Never Let Her Know
by LillieGhoul
Summary: It began as a question of his duty. Soon his protectiveness and obligation blossomed into a fiery passion and love he could never have imagined. She could never know for he did not want to hurt her and scare her away. Love was far from what she desired after she was exploited, especially when she still loved another and longed to be free. Might contain mature content. Neji/Hinata
1. A Question of Duty

**A/N: Just one of the many NejiHina stories floating in my head. I finally wrote one out and hope to have more in the future. This story might have daily updates as I have it covered already. There is just something about this pairing which makes my mind return to this ship. This pairing is the closest thing to canon in the manga/anime as the others have virtually little to no interaction or chemistry. They don't even make sense!**

 **So here's to all the NejiHina fans. All together now: DAMN you Kishimoto, for what you did just to try and sail useless ships like that of a stalker and her crush to appease the majority of fans. (Even that didn't work)**

 **I opted for a vague writing style to go with the feel of this story. I hope it works out.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would have known to end things after the Pain arc if I wrote myself into a corner like Kishi did.**

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 **Part 1:**

 _A Question of Duty_

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It was supposed to be a question of duty, but Neji honestly did care about her. Not only that, he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and should be cherished and loved with every ounce of emotion. His fire burnt deep but he could never let it show, because it was far from what she desired.

She was stuck with him because she wasn't given much of a choice. It was the only way she could be free, because she had put her trust on him. He had done all he could for her to see her smile and he sacrificed too much to see her happy. She still loved another, he could tell, but that was alright. He had accepted it.

She was found at the brink of the forest, her basket trodden and the sunflowers she had collected scattered all around. He knew they were an ingredient she used in the medicine she makes.

He remembered her telling him clearly, "Winter would be upon us soon and the sunflowers are necessary to be picked at night."

He had found it strange, and she had even refused an escort.

"Neji-niisan, I'm old enough to go on missions. I'm a chūnin! I don't need someone always taking care of me. I also don't need Kō or you to be babysitting me all the time."

Looking at her now, he could not curse himself bad or loud enough for listening to her and letting her go unattended. She had always been his soft spot, especially after the first dreadful chūnin exams, and he easily went along with anything she suggested.

She was still unconscious, her clothes torn, blood coating her trousers. The Konoha surveillance guards who had found her when she was reported missing did not take her to a hospital, as policy indicated. Because she belonged to a noble clan, it was to her family she was taken to first to see what was decided.

The Head, her father, could not control his rage.

"I'll disembowel them!" he yelled.

Without looking at logic or listening to the guards, he stormed out of the village. Taking his right hand man - his nephew - with him, they departed in search of the attackers who had despoiled her. His precious daughter's rapists had not wandered across the border yet. With their superior eyes, it was not hard to track them soon. The sun started to glow on the outskirts of the horizon when they were finally done with the battle. They stood amidst the mess of dead bodies, their brains spilling out from their skulls as he had bashed their skulls together and intestines crawling out, just as her father had promised. Spitting on them, they left them for the birds to feast on.

He, her cousin, was not without injury himself. He had suffered a serious blow to his blind spot. Their attackers had been familiar with their ways, which would explain how she was taken down quickly, even if she was alone. She had already injured two of them. But her father and him were exceptional even in their own clan. With blood dripping from their fingers, they wearily entered the village by the time the sun had risen up fully.

She was awake, and in a state of trauma. She refused to talk to anyone except her sister, who informed them in distress that all she did was hug her and sob on her shoulder.

"I am weak!" She blamed herself.

His blood boiled when he heard. She was far from weak. He sneaked into her room late at night.

"You are a survivor!' he insisted. "And I'll always be here for you."

She only began yelling and throwing things at him. He realised that in her state of panic and the tragedy, she hadn't even recognised him in the shadows and saw someone sneaking up upon her again. He cursed himself for giving off an impression of yet another predator.

Everyone had heard what had happened and her room filled with flowers, many of them including sunflowers, known to be her favourite.

Winter was here and she steadily recovered from her trauma. She would smile at them all lightly. He did all he could to make her laugh in delight and find joy in little things.

"Make that face again," she whined playfully.

He pulled off yet another exaggerated reaction in his always stern expression just to hear her squeal in laughter.

"Please catch the falling snow flakes with your tongue," she insisted, and he obliged, sticking his tongue out as she giggled in joy and did the same.

He let her fill his beanie with snow and pretended not to notice it when he put it on. Her laughter was music to his ears when the snow fell down his hair, his face, and down his shirt.

When talk came for her match, it was known that an excellent one would be hard to come by after what had happened, even if she is nobility. But anyone could be swayed by a large dowry and their name. The problem lay in the fact that she wouldn't accept anyone because she felt scarred for life. Especially after the war, it was all too much to take.

"I feel tainted!" she cried. "Tell him to leave," she ordered, not for the first time.

That's why she even stopped them from approaching the one she loved for her hand. She had stopped seeing him and sent him away when he attempted to visit her, his goofy smile dissolving and his blonde hair a mess.

"He deserves better," she said with resolve. "I do not want to see him. Ask him to leave."

Neji could not see her in pain, trembling in fear and steadily losing her resolve.

"You are far more than who anyone deserves," he told her. "You're a gem!"

"I never wish to marry," she told him in one of their private discussions. "But I'm not brave or steadfast enough to argue with anyone. It just isn't worth the trouble and my peace of mind. I want a peaceful life where no one disturbs me or lets me mind my own business."

Swallowing his nervousness and wiping the sweat on his palms by his sides, he stood up in a bold declaration in front of everyone and knelt before her father.

"I humbly request for Hinata-sama's hand in marriage," he proclaimed, bowing low, his hair sweeping the floor.

If he had taken a moment longer, he would've lost his resolve because he was not one to showcase his feelings so openly. Her father was moved and secretly overjoyed.

"Nothing would make me happier," her father declared. "But the final decision lies with my daughter. It's up to her if she accepts you or another candidate, Hyūga Kō, from the Main House of our clan who has given his proposal earlier today. She also has the choice of several nobles who have put in their offer and Uzumaki Naruto. I will only give my blessing to the one I'll be sure would respect and cherish my daughter his entire life, no matter what has happened."

Listening to her father with his head still bowed, he finally brought up the courage to raise his head to look at her and meets her eyes after her father was done speaking. Her face clearly depicted the disbelief, hurt, and betrayal she felt. She had misunderstood him. She ran away from the room. He excused himself, bowing quickly, before running after her.

He found her sitting at her favourite place in the garden, knees tracking mud, crying her heart out. She was heartbroken.

"I thought... I thought you understood!"

"Please listen Hinata-sama, I beg you!"

She wouldn't let him near her and shook off his arm. "You said I'm not a victim!"

"You're not!" he cries. "I am simply trying to show you a way of choosing your own fate, as taught to me by... _him._ " He could not say her lover's name without stumbling his tongue. "I did what I just did because I have a plan to make you free. I have not forgotten our discussions and your dreams."

That made her just a little curious to hear what he had to say. He could never show her how much she truly meant to him. This was her reaction to his proposal and she didn't even have an inkling of the way she made him feel.

He knelt in front of her and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"I did not mean to pressure you in any way," he swore. "I asked for your hand so you can just have an empty label of marriage stamped upon you, and the clan elders would leave you alone. You'll escape your fate as the heiress by marrying into the Branch. You do not have to be with me as a dutiful wife. You can have the freedom you want, I'll make certain of that. Our "marriage" would be just on paper. Your happiness means the world to me," he finished, but he did not mention the lengths he could and would go for her.

She calmed down steadily. "You-You're willing to sacrifice your entire life just for me? Does your dedication and duty stretch this far? Please see sense! You're not obligated to do so even as a Branch member. My happiness or freedom is not your duty."

"It's what I want," he insisted. "It's my destiny to take care of you till my dying breath and this destiny is what I've chosen for by myself, not because I'm honour-bound to."

She was very touched. "You... You really are my best friend after all!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He hugged her in return as he rested his nose on her hair and caressed her back.

She did not fully comprehend the deep passion in his eyes and mistook it for something else entirely. After thinking long and hard about his offer, she accepted it after a week and told her father of her decision. They were married soon after.

They were married in spring, when the sunflowers bloomed around them in the meadow once more. The ceremony was exclusive as is a marriage of a noble, with all the joys and no limitations. All who saw him that day gossiped to each other that they had not seen a happier man than him that day. He hid his smile, but it escaped his lips every few seconds when he looked at his blushing bride, like his smile was meant to stay stretched on his face. His joy was obvious.

The man she loved was also in attendance, and he appeared just as forlorn as Neji himself used to be when he was a kid.

He was well aware of the fact that Uzumaki Naruto returned her feelings and they had spent time and close moments together, and even an intimate relationship. It pained him to think that she still thought she was tainted and rejected her lover because of it.

She thought so even after he declared that he "didn't care about what had happened and never will-dattebayo!"

She had silenced him by saying, "People will never stop talking if a future Hokage's wife was known to be a non-virgin upon marriage."

That had stopped him cold and silenced his ranting.

"The legitimacy of your heir would be put into question and my own character questioned and picked upon constantly. Your rivals will make sure of that, and it's not worth risking your dream and my peace of mind. You are well aware that I'm emotionally very weak. They will also question your poor "decisions" throughout your tenure. Nor would any heir I'd be able to provide you will ever be respected."

She was a daughter of a noble clan. She had an idea how politics worked and she spoke like a true politician. But they both knew that wasn't the real reason why she rejected him.

She had confessed to her lover what she had planned with her best friend, confidante, and now a husband on the surface. Naruto's heart had broken piece by piece with her every word.

"Your happiness matters a lot and means the world to me as well, and I'll let you have it."

Her lover had volunteered to play the same role as Neji professed to play but they both knew they desired each other too much and he would be unable to contain it.

"It's not what I want," she said sadly. "I do not want to be or play the role of a Hokage's wife. I want to be free."

Neji knew it would be terribly hard for him as well, but he could never let it show or she'd feel betrayed. He had done a good job to hide it so far. To be close to her everyday and guard her was enough joy in itself for him. That's how she thought of him and always had, her personal protector and bodyguard who safeguards her through every hardship she faces.

Later that night, she stood trembling in their new bedroom. It hurt him to see that she still didn't trust him fully.

He took her in his arms and vowed, once again, to protect her all his life.

"We do not have to consummate our marriage," he had already told her. That had been the basis for their plan but she needed reassurance.

"We need to sleep in the same room, so no one will talk," he told her now.

She felt uncomfortable, but she had to accept this fact.

"You can take the bed. I'll sleep down on the futon," he continued and she felt relieved that they would not be sleeping on the same bed.

He spread the futon beside her on the floor and turned away from her so she'd feel more relaxed. As her hand dangled down when she slept, he took it and held on, thinking about how much he loved this woman and admired her strength, but he could never let it show. Not for fear of appearing weak, but for the fear of hurting her.

The night before their wedding, he was confronted by her father in private.

"Neji, are you satisfied with my daughter and can you, in turn, make her happy?"

His concern lay in the fact that the boy had not felt pressured to accept her or had even asked to take care of her because he was of the Branch House.

"It's more than just a question of duty, it's my destiny," he replied back. "My job has always been to serve and protect her family. I have been chosen to take birth in this role. I have stuck by it willingly because I desire it, and now desire her as well. And I wish to die fulfilling my role, just like my father has done before me."

Hiashi tried to speak but he interrupted him again, for he knew what the Head of the Hyūga had in mind.

"It is my own decision and I have not been pressured in any way. There is no greater honour for me than being assigned the role of her guardian and ensuring, with this marriage, that it'd stay like this for the rest of her life, and mine as well. There is no greater joy for me than receiving your daughter's hand and your blessing along with it."

Her father had teared up hearing his response and hugged him, having already accepted him as son-in-law.

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	2. In Sickness and In Health

**Part 2:**

 _In Sickness and In Health_

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Days passed, and he would quickly get up in the morning and wrap up the futon, showing no sign to any passing observer that they did not bed together. It was all worth it, as she was happy. And his happiness lay in hers.

Eventually, questions and inquiries began popping up about when an heir could be expected. His deadly eyes barely masked with killer intent were enough to silence any discussion on the matter, and she would breathe easier.

The next time he brushed away her hair from her face when he thought she was asleep, she opened her eyes and smiled. She was beginning to trust him and he felt no greater joy than that. She knew what he was doing and began to reach out for his hand herself and held on as she slept as she found comfort in it too. When she fell asleep, he pressed it against his cheek.

One night, as he was twitching in his sleep due to the nightmares he sometimes still had after the war when he had almost died doing his duty to protect her, he felt warm hands wrapping around him and he woke up with a start.

Cold sweat was coursing through his forehead and he was breathing heavily, and he regretted having disturbed her sleep.

"I-I'm sorry I woke you up, Hinata-sama," he apologised in shame.

He saw her sad eyes looking straight at him, and it wasn't possible for his heart beat to accelerate further. He returned her embrace wholeheartedly.

"Were... Were you having a bad dream?" she haltered.

"I'm fine," he reassured her.

He held her till she slept, breathing just below his shoulder. It was the first time they slept next to each other.

The next night, when he began to get ready for bed and roll out the futon, she tried speaking to him.

"Ummm..." she faltered.

"Hmm?" he encouraged her.

"Uhhh..."

He continued looking at her softly

"Y-You can sleep with me on the bed," she said in a rush. She offered no further explanations.

She was shivering when he pulled back the covers, but in order to appease her mind, he turned his back to her and pretended to sleep and not acted like he did not notice her nervousness.

She visibly relaxed and fell asleep slowly. He turned to face her then and it was a treat just to watch her breathe deeply in her sleep and her eyelids flutter. It was all he could do to keep himself from taking her in his arms again. He watched her for a long time, her breathing and slight fluttering of the lashes and how her mouth was open just a little. He watched her till sleep claimed him as well.

The next night, he tentatively reached out to touch her arm, and again brushed away the stray hair on her face. She squeezed his hand back just a little, indicating to him that it was alright and they could continue to do so. He kissed her on her forehead, then her nose, and then her cheek before pulling back to look her in the eyes. She looked back and he didn't remember who fell asleep first.

The night after that, he grew impatient and after he thought she was asleep, he put his arm around her, scooting closer to rest his chin on her head. It was a risk and he knew he was pushing his limits, but he could not help the deep attraction he felt towards her. He sniffed her hair deeply, before burying his face in them and drifting off to sleep.

So it became his nightly ritual. He would wait for her to drift off to sleep, and then come closer and pull her towards him. It was important that she was asleep, for she could not suspect how head over heels in love he was with her. She never softened under his embrace, which indicated that even in her subconscious mind she still had another man on her mind. Sometimes he fell asleep before her but he found that he did not have any nightmares the nights he took her in his arms.

There were some days when she woke up before him and found herself wrapped in his embrace. There were also times when she woke up in the middle of the night because she felt too warm from their close contact. Caged in his embrace, it was hard to extricate herself without waking him.

To spare him any embarrassment and because she herself was too shy to question him directly, she would pretend to be still asleep when he woke up. As her back was almost always towards him, he couldn't see that some times when he held her, she hadn't completely drifted off to sleep and would wake up suddenly, pretending not to notice him as he let his arms drop. She had encouraged his behavior by letting him hold her hand and things had progressed without her stopping him. She did not know how to approach the topic with him and politely tell him that things were steadily going too far and would continue to do so with him if he didn't stop.

One night, she woke up in the middle of a deep sleep because she suddenly felt his male hardness pressing against her thigh. Unable to move or go back to sleep, she lay absolutely still until the next morning, long after he had gone soft. She couldn't do that to him. She already knew that their marriage denied him any satisfaction of that sort. She was quite certain that he had never been with another woman, and she had never seen him with one either except his teammates.

That afternoon, she tried to approach the topic with him.

"Neji-nii... Neji-kun," she corrected herself. He was her husband now, whatever the relationship between them.

The tenderness with which he looked back at her caused her guilt to swell.

"I-I want you to know... I never want to be an obstacle for you... You have my full permission to satisfy y-your n-needs with other women. I know y-you are refraining to do so and it c-can't go on forever. It... it just isn't fair to you," she finished, trying not to sound desperate to be left alone.

His face had been as expressionless as a rock, and it was only the hurt palpable in his eyes that hinted at the soul she had bruised underneath. He bowed stiffly and walked out, leaving her wondering if she did the right thing or if her choice of words were correct.

It pained her to see him hurt, because he had done nothing but care for her and bent over backwards to make her happy. He did not touch her that night, and for a few nights after that. Her worries for now were erased, but she did not feel the relief she thought she'd feel. Instead, she felt empty, like something was missing. Was she getting used to his arms around her?

He acted like he was fine. She had begun to suspect his feelings for her even if she had just uncovered the surface, and it was dangerous. He took her to parks and he took her to shop. He continued to train her and improve her posture and gestures, and the close contact with him affected her like a Jūken sending electricity through her nervous system. He prepared dinner when she was the one who came home late from missions and he cleaned up after, not letting her touch a spoon.

He never left her side once and he had never even stopped calling her by the honorific he used to respect her even after she told him he didn't need to call her with "sama" any longer.

"After all, we are technically married, Neji-kun. We are equals now." She was slowly losing her stutter around him even though it still felt odd for her to call him "kun."

He refused. "It'll always be there to remind me of your value and how precious you are to me, even though there is no chance I'm forgetting it any time soon. I want the whole world to see how much I respect you and they in turn should do the same."

She still twiddled her thumbs, unsure of how to proceed the argument.

"Would you rather I call you Ojou-sama?" he teased and he smiled as she became horrified at such formality.

One day as they were walking across the street bazaar, they came across the one she loved.

His blonde head bobbed up even from a distance. She noticed that her husband's body tensed and his grip tightened on the bags he was holding. He quickly took her hand with his free one and held on possessively. It was a subconscious gesture and she was taken by surprise at his abrupt reaction.

He nodded to her lover and was spared to shake his hand, muttering a stiff greeting, keeping a frozen smile on his face. Naruto greeted her by bowing formally, and she bowed in return.

He left shortly, her eyes following him till he disappeared around the corner. Standing by her side, her husband watched her watch him go, and knew for a fact that she'd never look at him that way.

He had already accepted it but he still felt like his chest had been sliced open once again, and it hadn't hurt more than this in the war when his chest had literally pierced open in reality. He held on to her hand till they reached the next shop where she had to browse for some items. She blushed when a few people looked over carelessly as they walked but did not have the courage to ask him to let her go or stop her from calling her Ojou-sama. His mood had become considerably gloomier after the encounter with the one she loved.

He had a nightmare again when he went to sleep. This time, he dreamt that he was standing between her and her lover and he was a puppet dangling in between, who had no place among them much like a a splinter stuck on a toe. He was continuously being pierced by wooden stakes like a voodoo doll is pierced by pins and his cursed seal was disappearing from his forehead, his eyes losing their light slowly.

He was aware that it was a dream, but he couldn't wake up. A sharp cry finally reached him, which had been echoing for quite a while in the recesses of his mind.

He opened his eyes to find that she was sitting up with his head on her soft thighs and his hair spread all over them. He also found his side of the bed completely wet. Sweat covered his body as well. It had also wet the fabric covering her so that her light gown stuck on her skin where he lay. She had put his head on her lap and untied his gown and taken it off till his waist, massaging his chest.

She was sobbing. Her face was staring down at him, tears cascading down her eyes. His first thought was that of anguish that he had hurt her. He tried to raise his head but it felt as hard as a boulder.

She eased him down on her lap again, running a hand over his branded forehead. It was burning in fever.

"Don't... You're not well."

He tried to speak but she tentatively put her finger on his lips.

"I-I have been t-trying to reach Neji-kun for so long, but y-you continued to thrash on the b-bed. I... I was barely able to extract your hand c-clenching your seal, but I-I was unable to force your fingers to let go of your chest. I... I thought maybe your seal was h-hurting. I... I was so scared!" she tearfully finished.

"Hinata-sama, I apologise for giving you such a fright," he rasped in a weak voice.

But she shook her head, kissing the mark on his head.

"Go back to sleep, Neji-kun. I'm here. I promise I'm here. Y-you don't have to be scared of the bad dreams. I'm here."

She eventually managed to coo him back to sleep, rocking his head and running her fingers through his forehead to his hair, humming to him like a baby.

He was unable to get up from bed the next day, and she stayed by his side, having cancelled her missions and his and only tending to his needs.

She kept a bucket of ice-filled water and changed the wet cloths she placed on his forehead regularly.

"H-Hinata-sama."

She looked up as she wrung out a wet towel.

"Please... Give me your hand."

She did as he asked. It appeared to relax him. He couldn't let her go and panicked when he woke up suddenly and didn't find her.

"Hinata-sama!" he would yell as he woke up suddenly.

"Yes, Neji-kun?" she asked as she raised her head from the bed right beside him. She had fallen asleep sleeping on the floor and resting her head on the bed. He relaxed when he saw her.

"I'm right here," she reassured him as she held his hand again. He grunted, and closed his eyes again.

Their positions had now been effectively reversed. All those who saw them marveled at the love they shared and how she never once left his side when he was asleep, except to run back and forth with the medicine her cherry blossom friend had given her and preparing the food he requested.

"What would you like to eat, Neji-kun?" she asked.

"Anything made with love from your hand, even if just a glass of water" he would reply.

Soon enough, his breathing started to ease and the fever started to break. She held on to him, and let him cuddle up to her once more as they slept at night because she noticed he slept more peacefully that way and had less nightmares.

"Hold me," he would whisper, scared to sleep.

She held him, and his hot breath on her ears made her blush at the close proximity they shared.

Even after she woke up, he insisted on holding her for a while longer.

"Don't leave me," he would mumble, still half asleep.

She remained lying there with him help up in his embrace, and he only released her when their stomachs grumbled in hunger. It almost seemed as if he was scared she wouldn't come back, and she had to constantly assure him that she would.

"Neji-kun, we need to eat. I promise, I'll be back with breakfast in five minutes."

"No... It can wait."

"Neji-kun."

He sighed as his own stomach growled. "Make it two minutes," he relented.

Pretty soon, he started going on missions again. Since the war had ended, there hadn't been any S or A ranked missions anyone was assigned with. They mostly stayed in the perimeters of their village, venturing out only occasionally. For that, she was thankful for this meant he did not have to strain himself.

"Please be careful, Neji-kun," she would say to him as she handed him his bento. "Don't forget to take your medicine."

"I'll let nothing happen to me if I have you to return to," he replied, and that was the last time he kissed her on the forehead as he departed. His health returned completely the next day and so did the distance he had previously maintained, much to her anguish.


	3. Distances and Desires

**Part 3:**

 _Distances and Desires  
_

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After his health returned, she found that things were still awkward between them, even more so by the open, vulnerable behavior he had displayed when he was sick.

She could not be sure how to approach him. He mostly stayed silent and grew more distant. He was always gone when she woke up in the morning, his side of the bed cold. He only came to their bedroom late at night in time for bed, after she was asleep, and sometimes didn't come back at all which left her wondering if he had found someone, and surprisingly enough, she felt a stab of jealousy.

He also did not hold her and she found herself missing his touch. She did not appreciate the manner he had suddenly adopted and she had become very used to being taken care of and held closely, as she had become used to feeling valued.

Not thinking much about it, she started to do small things to get him to notice her. She changed her shampoo. She wore her hair a little differently. She applied a little makeup and pierced her ears. She did not understand, but she wanted his attention once more and having lost it had made her realize how used to it she was and how much she loved and craved for it.

She was not sure what this feeling was called. If it was love, then she fell in it slowly, and then all at once. But she was unable to show it because after more than a semester having passed since their marriage she wasn't sure how to without making it extremely awkward.

She no longer thought about the one she used to love, and was finally able to say goodbye to the memories of his touch, the feel of his lips on hers, his hands through her hair. Now she imagined someone else – her husband on paper - doing the same things to her.

Her pink haired, cherry blossom friend confessed her growing liking for her ex-lover when she came to visit her.

"I... I wanted to ask your permission. Can... Can I... Pursue him?" Haruno Sakura nervously asked.

Hinata smiled and wished her luck. "Sakura, you have my best wishes."

She had been a big help to her when her husband had fallen sick and she and her husband had developed a good friendship with the pinkette. She did not mind her ex and her best friend to get together. She had long since been aware of their feelings towards each other. The pinkette had just been blinded by her infatuation towards the raven-haired Uchiha, who had been away from the village for a long while now. He had returned for a few days as a prisoner, only to leave on a journey again. He had refused her invitation to join, shattering her heart once again in the process.

When the news reached her ears that Sakura and Naruto were together now, she honestly felt happy for them both.

One night, after a fortnight had passed, she was determined to stay up till her husband returned, because it had been more than a week since she had even seen him in the house or wandering in the corridors. She had her own missions to keep her busy as well and she was restless to see him.

He finally returned in the dead of the night. He stood in front of the wardrobe, his back to her, and took off his clothes. She wanted to bury her face in her pillows, but she also wanted to observe his reaction when he took out his clothing from the wardrobe. It didn't really matter as his open, long hair covered him.

She was never sure if he even noticed the efforts she made rearranging his clothing and leaving her scent inside the wardrobe so it would smell pleasant when he opened it. He opened it finally and took out a kimono, sniffing it deeply before slipping it on and tying it around him. She felt a deep pleasure watching him note her fragrance and arrange his hair behind him.

Just before he turned around, she quickly closed her eyes. She heard his light footsteps as he made his way towards the bed, and fell forward on his front, arms splayed. He was asleep in seconds. The fact that he could've been too tired to touch her did not register with the sharp disappointment she felt poking at her. She reached forward hesitatingly and took his hand, raising it up to face level. Cuddling his arm, she slept.

The next day, she reorganized all his drawers. She brought tall sunflowers for him and kept a vase next to his side of the bed, waiting to see his reaction when he came. Winter was here, and he was sure to wonder about the flowers.

Again, it was late at night when he returned. He trudged in slowly, opening and closing the sliding door silently when she had all but fallen asleep. She managed to open one eye to observe him. He sat on the bed with his back to her and kicked off his shoes, stopping to look at the flowers. She couldn't observe his expression but she saw him run his fingers through them, checking to see if they weren't artificial.

When he opened his drawers to put back his forehead protector which he has just taken off and his weapon bag, he smiled looking at the new, neat arrangements. She could only observe the side of his face, obscured by his bangs.

He took off his vest, and then his shirt. She ached to touch his chiseled body riddled with scars, more so and deeper than her own. She brought up the courage to stretch her hand out to reach him, but he got up at that precise moment and walked out without having noticed, no doubt to bathe.

Her sharp intake of breath was painful. What were these feelings? They were nostalgic. She had only felt these when she had cared deeply for another.

When fifteen minutes had passed, she grew restless, unable to wait anymore as she was sure she'd fall asleep. She got up and crept slowly towards the bathroom.

The door was a little open so she did not have to activate her eyes to peak inside, which was a relief because she was tired. He was lounging in the tub, having fallen asleep with his head at an angle sure to wake him up with a painful crick in the neck. She did not want him waking up in such an uncomfortable position even if he looked relaxed enough. She went back to her room and took a pillow, then brought it back to the bathroom to position it behind his neck.

He didn't wake, even though they were all trained to sleep with one eye open. Their clan was especially vigilant as they were chosen mostly for their eyes to scout and guard. It was the long-stretching peace between the villages which had them grow non-serious and lazy, no doubt.

Why did he always choose late missions lately which stretched far into the night?

The next morning, she went up to the Hokage's office and asked to look at the schedule of "special jōnin" missions. Bemused, the Hokage knew what she meant and did not deny her this request as she was an important part of the Academy as well and helped plan and organize missions. She was aware of many secret identities as well and could be trusted. Even though her husband was an ANBU, the purpose of being one meant hiding his status amongst villagers and his identity cloaked in the shadows.

She ran her eyes through the script and found his alias. She saw that almost all of his missions were long and stretched into the night, just like she had suspected.

"Hokage-sama, why do all my husband's missions require his presence in the dead of the night?" she asked, not bothering to hide her intentions.

The Hokage's expression, as always, was unreadable behind the mask he wore.

"He specifically requested them to be so," he replied.

Suspicious, she looked at the team he was paired with, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that most of them were with her pinkette friend. There was someone else whose alias she didn't recognize. She felt guilty for suspecting him but her relief was bigger. She knew that her husband deeply respected her friend because he owed her – and her ex lover for that matter - his life.

Because of the nature of secrecy in ANBU missions, she understood why her friend had not told her she was going on missions with her husband. She further felt embarrassed because he would've been one of the first to know about her pink haired friend's latest relationship status with her ex lover.

She knew he always felt wary around him; she had felt it every time he stiffened beside her whenever they saw him or passed him by. She suddenly found herself wondering if her husband might have been the one to request her cherry blossom friend to refer to her regarding her former lover and her feelings.

She thanked the Hokage and left his office, intending to pay her friend a visit.

Sakura greeted her happily and asked her inside, hurriedly preparing tea. Her friend did not ask why she was there without notice. Hinata wondered where to begin or how to approach the topic indirectly. She did not want her friend to know she had been stalking or been suspicious about her husband, as it was sure to reach his ears. She had to be careful with her choice of words.

"The weather is nice, ne? Chances were that we might witness our first snow tonight," her friend was nervously chattering.

When this did not entice a response, she further went on to speak. "Do you know of the upcoming marriage between Rock Lee and Tenten?"

Of course she did. Her husband had mentioned their growing closeness in passing months ago.

She avoided the topic about her husband or her former lover, currently the love interest of the girl in front of her. The fact that her friend was nervous showed that she was trying to guess the nature of her sudden visit. When she was out of things to talk about, Sakura hesitatingly approached the topic of her husband.

"How are things with Neji?" she asked.

Hinata shook her head sadly. "I... Have not been with him for days. I miss him. He is my confidante and I always feel safer around him even though there is no danger. I... I wish he spent more time with me."

Her friend smiled brightly. "Oh, he wishes it too!"

Hinata just looked at her in surprise.

"He told me he likes spending time with you, but how he needs to distance himself for awhile to... To give you space," Sakura said, afraid that she had spoken too much.

Hinata just looked at her sadly and she hurried to remedy her spill, confessing about her mission in the process.

"We have a mission later today which will stretch past midnight, but you can expect him back by breakfast! You can surprise him. Don't tell him I've told you so."

Hinata slept alone that night as well, and woke up at dawn when the snow had started falling. Everyone else would be asleep for a few more hours. She did not intend to go back to sleep and she stood up, waiting for his return. She was determined to resolve things between them, even if she wasn't sure how.

She prepared coffee and went out onto the porch to enjoy it, holding her steaming mug. The shed above her protected her from the falling crystals but she couldn't resist leaning a bit forward and trying to catch some of the falling flakes with her tongue, as she had done with him since she was young, and again when she was going through her dark days.

She jumped in surprise and almost dropped her mug when someone touched her shoulder.

She turned to see her masked husband.

"Neji-kun!" she squealed in joy.

"Ojou-sama," he replied, bowing. "My beautiful lady," he elaborates, as he held her chin in a teasing manner with his thumb and forefinger.

She was giddy with joy to see that he was back early and witness the snow with her. It was no doubt the reason for his early exit from his mission. The gods were with her, and she thanked lady luck for being on her side as there was absolutely no one around at this time. Her smile was wide and her eyes sparkled, but her husband wasn't to know that it was because of _his_ arrival and not that of the snow. His arrival had just added another reason to make her love the snow more so.

They sat down on the steps and he put his arm around her, their shoulders touching. They watched the snow falling together. Where they were sitting, some of the snow could reach them.

She turned to face him as he raised up his mask to reveal his face. She touched her cold nose against his cheek, causing him to smile warmly. His eyes were misty, and she asked him to close them.

"Try to catch the snowflakes with your tongue, like you used to do to cheer me up... _Before,_ " she says, her voice a mere whisper.

Bashful, he obeyed. He leaned forward slowly and opened his mouth, only to find her cold lips brushing against his.

Shocked, he opened his eyes and looked at her with naked passion which he was struggling to cover in them.

"H-Hinata-sama?"

She was blushing furiously. She cuddled closer till she was perched on his lap and threw her arms around his neck, touching their noses and avoiding to look at him directly. His lips were trembling, and so was his whole body, right down to his fingertips still perched around her. She wondered if it was from the cold, or their contact.

He was unsure of how to proceed. "Are... Are you sure?"

She closed her eyes and raised her lips expectantly in reply. Her cheeks were flushed, and he also wondered if it was from the cold, or their contact.

Hesitatingly, he brought down his own lips to meet hers for the second time. She opened her mouth to lead him, and his teeth clacked against hers, displaying his inexperience. She was patient, and she guided him to mimic her movements. He was a quick learner, and after a few more embarrassing bouts when he didn't know how much pressure he should exert, he kissed her in a way which warmed up her insides. His hands grabbed her waist from underneath her gown, and rose up slowly, tracing her skin upwards to her ribs and further, feeling her figure.

She shivered, and he suddenly realized that they were exposed in the cold air and anyone could happen upon them. He stood up, taking her in his arms and carried her to their bedroom, her empty cup of coffee and his mask sitting forgotten on the steps they had been sitting on.

He deposited her carefully onto the bed and loomed over her after having kicked off his shoes.

She took off his headband and put it aside, next to the vase. He took off his weapon and vest, and she aided him in taking off his shirt, arm guards, and gloves.

She touched his chest where he had been pierced so many times, and she touched the mark on his forehead which has bound him to her since birth, tracing it with her fingers. In the beginning, it had been a question of duty and forced obligation, but slowly, it had blossomed into fierce loyalty and love. He had contained it under the guise of familial responsibility and friendship for so long. Unable to control himself longer still, he swooped her in his arms and held her, kissing her senseless.

It was a new experience for him, but one he found he enjoyed very much. He slowly loosened her gown, and the sleeves fell past her shoulders. He hungrily ran his hands over her chest and her breasts, discovering them, exploring them. She sighed against his lips but he didn't release her lips or the twin mounds he held.

He ran his hands down her back and as they reached her hips, she whimpered and a tremor ran through her body. He immediately stopped his hands from sliding down further and she felt ashamed that she still wasn't ready and deep affection for him to have understood her so well without any words needing to be spoken.

He didn't leave her lips alone and claimed them for hours. He kissed her and held her, and held her and kissed her. He made it very clear; he was never letting her go but he still could never let her know the extent of his passion or desire. No other can ever hope to claim his heart. His lips occasionally wandered down her neck, chest, and stomach and then back up. He behaved like a man who found an oasis after being lost in a desert for weeks and feared he won't find a better opportunity to quench his thirst, greed making him gluttonous.

He was breathing very heavily, occasionally pulling back for breath and taking in a sharp gasp. She ran her hands down his back and the feel of his strong muscles excited her. To feel his body against hers and his lips on hers for the first time made her dizzy, and she found herself wondering why she had resisted for so long and delayed the inevitable. Had she truly wanted never to indulge in this kind of relationship with him? She wondered why. The strong feelings rushing through her body in response were enough to send her reeling from his embrace.

His tongue felt her chin and jawline. She felt his lips circle below her neck and felt a sharp tingle as he bit and sucked the skin below her collarbone. His lips did not stop there. They ventured below to discover new places and played with her teats, gently biting them and taking them in his mouth. The butterflies running in her stomach made her euphoria almost painful and she could not stop herself from groaning loudly in pleasure. She opened her eyes to see his expression, to see if he was enjoying it as much as she was.

As he chewed her lips and ran his tongue over and inside her mouth, making her own tongue dance along with his, he struggled to keep in control. He had his eyes closed and grabbed both of her arms. He wondered what exactly he was doing and if it was right. But she hadn't objected had she? In fact, she was the one who had asked him to lead. He desired more, oh so much more. But he should not - _could_ not - let her know the full extent of his desires. But maybe, just maybe, he could give her a small taste soon enough if she allowed him.


	4. Jealousy and Insecurities

**A/N: So I felt that things were going too fast for some reason and the last chapter looked kind of rushed when I read it again. So here I've introduced the first roadblock earlier than I had originally intended to.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It feels good to know what people think and helps give direction.**

* * *

 **Part 4:**

 _Throttling Jealousy_ _with_ _Raging Insecurities_ _  
_

* * *

The electricity between them at breakfast was palpable as she fed him by hand. The people sharing the table pretended to look away as he occasionally nibbled her fingers and she giggled softly. Their family also pretended not to notice the marks he had left all over her neck, collarbone, arms, and even her face. He was not unmarked himself.

Her happiness affected everyone. She was his sun, the centre of his universe, and he bloomed like a sunflower whose eyes followed it and shone.

As she was walking along the corridor with a basket of laundry, she almost passed their room. A pair of hands reached out the door and suddenly grabbed her from inside and pulled her in, making her drop the basket outside as she gets caught by surprise.

He pushes her roughly and kissed her against the wall, pulling her legs up around his waist as he hauls her up. Her legs wrap around him before she gets her bearings as she kisses him back. Heat rose to her cheeks as she looked down at him and their eyes meet.

"Never leave me, Lady Hinata," he finds himself pleading in a moment of weakness.

"I never want to leave you alone," she wants to say, but finds herself unable to do so. She was growing very fond of him. His kisses it seemed had awakened her from a deep sleep. She was not sure exactly what she wanted. It was an alien feeling. Maybe she really was falling in love with him, if it was love which made you think such things.

* * *

As if the goddess of irony had heard her, it reared its ugly head the very next day. She was called in to the Hokage's office the next day to be offered an A ranked mission. It's her first one since she was attacked.

 _Just when I was beginning to get closer to my husband_ , she sighed.

She's nervous, but she holds on to her resolve. She went home to tell her husband, knowing it was a bit much to expect him to be happy for her, let alone jump up in joy.

Sure enough, his face fell as he heard.

"Please transfer it with another B ranked mission," he pleadingly requests.

"But..." Hinata says, her heart falling. "Neji... You need not worry; I'm ready. I assure you."

He stays silent. The last time he listened to her say that, an inconceivable and unimaginably horrible thing had happened to her which still haunted both of their dreams.

"I do not want to lose you," he says quietly. _Just when I am beginning to win you,_ he left unsaid.

"Please be happy for me," she requests in an injured tone. "I'm finally being trusted to carry out this kind of mission again not only by the village, but myself as well."

He lapses into silence again, deep in thought. "Who is your teammate?" he finally asks the inevitable question she dreaded.

"He's... ummm..."

Neji's face darkens considerably; he automatically fears the worst. He suspects the reason behind her hesitation and reluctance to tell him.

"Lady Hinata," he says, taking both of her hands in his. "Please tell me. I promise I won't... I won't..." he trails off, unable to complete his promise.

Wordlessly, she hands him her mission contract. With trembling hands, he takes it from her. He stares at the name imprinted on it for a few seconds before dropping to his knees.

"Please..." she says, her eyes pleading.

He looks at her with rising insecurity, hurt clearly etched on his face. He remembers the promise he had made to her before their marriage which had been the reason for her agreement. He had promised her her freedom.

* * *

He did not know how he could stay knowledgeable about the fact that she was alone with her ex-lover during the long weeks of her mission and remain sane at the same time. Their mission required them to escort a feudal lord to his destination on a diplomatic meeting and their eyes were needed. The feudal lord had specifically requested for assistance from their clan and that's why his wife was chosen, along with the person who inflicted him with a sour taste in his mouth and made his stomach queasy.

To add insult to injury, her father had deemed fit another clansman to protect her during her mission. His face fell further as Hiashi told him of his decision. Other than that, the extra shinobi as her protector was not minded by the Hokage or their client as he too possessed the Byakugan.

Assisting her was none other than the one who had sent his proposal to her father before him, Hyūga Kō. Her father had deemed him fit to provide personal protection to his daughter instead of him, her husband. If Hinata was deemed capable, her father might relent to send his daughter on her next A or S-ranked mission unassisted. It was a big opportunity for her to prove that she could take care of herself. If her husband went along, he was sure to fuss over her and constantly interfere.

Even though Neji was superior in abilities and skills, Kō had always been his rival when it came to protecting Hinata. Seven years older than him and eight years older than his wife, he was initially assigned the duty to escort Hinata around the village when they were children.

He always managed to stay one step ahead of him in terms of inter clan politics. He had also been attached to his wife and he also accompanied her occasionally. That was before _Neji_ won her trust and became the first one she reached out to herself. When the war was almost upon them, Kō had also questioned Neji's leadership of the Hyūga.

Kō had protested to her father that she, as his daughter and second in line as heiress, deserved to lead instead of his nephew. "After all, she is from the Main House. She has grown a lot stronger than she was before!" Kō had argued.

Neji had happened to overhear it but didn't say anything nor had he interfered. The Head's decision remained unchanged. Her father had told him that his decision was final.

"Hinata is strong today because Neji has taken her under his wing and trained her well. Why do you think I made the decision not to choose my daughter to lead the clan to war? I do not disagree that she is strong, but she's too kind! It stops her from doing what has and needs to be done."

This was what also worried him about her missions. Neji went to demand the Hokage to place him with her instead of Kō. The Hokage reminded him he already had a mission scheduled; to accompany the Hokage to Amegakure.

"This mission requires your presence until you can find another ANBU to substitute for you," the Hokage said. "That is to say, if he or she has your eyes coupled with your fighting ability to help lead this mission."

He cursed under his breath. His rival had one upped him again. But unbeknownst to him, Hinata had already cleared it out with the Hokage when she was assigned the mission.

 _"Hokage-sama, please do not substitute Kō with my husband if he asks you. My father insists on a personal protector after what has happened to me in the past, and he understands that it is for the best if Kō accompanies me instead of Neji. You do know that it's because of my teammate. We... Share a past. We do not want my husband to... Or my teammate to... Unintentionally cause a situation which can risk our mission from being carried out effectively."_

 _"I understand," the Hokage had said. "I'll re-arrange a mission for him so he can't argue."  
_

"I can trust Kō to protect my wife, but I do not trust him to protect her with his life," Neji insisted.

The Hokage shrugged. "Learn to trust your fellow ninja. Especially your wife."

It felt like a verbal slap to his face.

* * *

He did not return home. He feared that he would be unable to stay indoors a moment longer. He feared he might suffocate. He couldn't bring himself to relax, knowing that his wife will soon be alone on a mission with...

He walked the empty streets of the village late at night like a haunting ghost. His feet automatically carried him to his gennin team's former training area.

It was at this spot he felt he could relax. It was at this very spot he had secretly trained and mastered the secret Hyūga techniques not taught to Branch members. His resolve back then had been to prove them all wrong. Back then, he hated her family. He hated _her._ But he had discovered that she was suffering from her fate just as well as him. She was too kind-hearted and hated combat. She always let down her father and crushed his expectations because she was weak. She was facing the consequences. She was just as lost as him.

What she had made him realize back then was that even more than his hatred for her family, he hated himself more. No matter how strong he grew or how good he became, he hated himself more for being unable to break free from his inevitable fate. He was a caged bird who longed to fly, but found his wings to be broken.

But what one doesn't know, a bird locked in a cage for too long forgets how to fly. He becomes afraid of the endless sky and scurries back to his cage where he is comfortable in a situation he is familiar with. For someone who is born in a cage, he has no interest in what lies outside. There just isn't any point in doing so. A prisoner who has never tasted freedom does not know how to enjoy it. He does not know how to cope. Ultimately, the reality crushes him, and it's a lot more than he can endure. He begs his warden to take him back to prison. The world is too big. It overwhelms him. It makes him realize his puny existence doesn't matter.

He tries to make a nest inside his familiar surroundings. He tried to find a mate who would stick by his side through thick and thin and never leave his side till death do them apart. But what he already knew was that he could not clip the wings of a bird who longed to be free.

He slowly walks back to their house. He enters very quietly and watches her sleeping, her thumb touching her lips. He knelt in front of her and studied the lashes on her eyes. He had vowed never to see them wet again at his expense, but there they were, shining like they were freshly rinsed.

He takes in the details of her face. It had always been his duty to protect her, and not always out of love. She had no idea exactly how much he loved her; he had never let it show and now, he would most certainly never let her know. It would hurt her. falling in love had never been a part of their agreement and he was an absolute fool to let a few kisses get to his head. She did not return his feelings, never had. She had always loved another since a young age and she had always looked at him as nothing more than a brother bound to her by duty.

It was up to her to decide what she wanted, and more importantly, who she wanted. With a heavy heart, he forcibly willed himself to pull back his strings of attachment. She was free to fly with her will and choose to do whatever makes her happy. If she will be happy, his purpose will be fulfilled. It didn't matter how much he loved her as he never intended to burn her with his heat-filled desires or scare her with his desperate attachments and passion. He can never let her know.

* * *

She kissed him goodbye, and he tried to imprint the memory on his lips. As she turned to walk away, he grabbed her hand again and pulled her against him, crushing her into his embrace. He could not help himself. Though he strongly tried to restrain himself from showing too much, a shadow of the demon managed to surface. He snuggled against her hair and sniffed it deeply, unsure when he would be able to smell it again. He touched her cheeks, his thumbs circling her cheekbones as he looked deeply into her eyes. They sparkled with his own reflection staring back at him.

Furthermore, he did not have a clear idea how long he could stay away from the feel of her lips against his. It was their – or rather his – first test. He would learn exactly how much he had allowed Hinata to affect him and he knew he would pay dearly for the consequences. He still found it hard to believe that pretty soon, she won't be with him.

His rival, Kō, coughed where he stood waiting at the entrance of the compound. He gestured at the sunset to indicate that they were getting late. Kō might be considered his rival when it came to scavenging a chance to protect Hinata, but there stood absolutely no competition at all when it came to her blonde teammate for this mission; her ex-lover. He did not want to see him, let alone meet him.

He was willingly handing her over to Naruto. He was forced to trust her in his care. He could not bear the pain. But if you truly loved someone, you set them free. And if they returned your feelings, they'll return and stay with you. There was no need of cages. You do not keep them bound. You had to rely on trust to have them stay with you and hoped your feelings were enough to reach out.

Neji's eyes awakened with killer intent and his teeth clenched just thinking about the fact. He did not care to hide the jealousy which suffocates him; it was very apparent and there was no use to do so.

She lovingly stroked his stretched veins around his eyes till they relaxed and his jaw softened. She hugged him close to her one last time. She kissed him tenderly, standing on her tiptoes and lingering on his bottom lip before once again turning to leave.

He watched them leave till they disappeared from his vision. Only after that did he go to get ready for his own mission and imminent departure with the Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, and his senior advisor, Nara Shikamaru, to the Village Hidden in the Rain.


	5. Sheer Loneliness, Constant Worries

**A/N: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews KHB123, Saamon-sama, and A-kun! That being said, let's move on to the next chapter.  
**

* * *

 **Part 5:**

 _Sheer Loneliness, Constant Worries  
_

* * *

He was brooding, lost completely in thought. Because of his absent-mindedness, they almost stepped on a landmine as they reached the border. The Hokage slapped the back of Neji's head and told him to stay focused. Shikamaru slapped his own forehead, muttering how he was being so troublesome.

He sighed as he went on ahead of the pair to scout. He felt relieved when he saw that no troublesome ninja were loitering. It would have been such a drag because he was certainly in no mood to fight nor did he have the patience. He sighed again.

 _Damn it to hell, I'm transforming into Shikamaru_ , he thought.

After they crossed the land, he did not notice an arrow launching from his blind spot till it was too late. It struck his calf as he tried futilely to dodge or knock it off. Gritting his teeth from the pain, he yanked the shaft out and limped towards the perpetrators to take care of them, but they had already done a number on him.

His mission was over within a week, and her mission was scheduled for another. She did not return for two more, and he worried himself to a fever. Their pinkette friend tried reassuring him that she was fine.

"Come on Neji, she can take care of herself," Sakura said. "And besides, she's with Naruto."

Neji looked like he swallowed a lemon when she said this. His shifting expression did not escape Sakura's notice.

The Hokage had received a report from them that things had delayed but otherwise all was well. Hinata had fallen ill because she had eaten something which had not suited her. When he heard, he had declared that he was leaving to reach her at that exact moment.

"She needs me," he cried, losing all sense of rationality. She once again attempted to restrain him.

"Neji, no. Your wound hasn't healed yet. You're lucky you didn't bleed out on your mission. You'll only wind up getting in the way and become bothersome."

Neji recalled Shikamaru having said something along similar lines after he had discovered his wound and treated it, not caring how much pain he was causing Neji as he insensitively tore apart his infected skin, mindless to his yelling and swearing.

There was nothing Sakura could do to dissuade him or ease his worries except pour relaxants into his drinks without his notice. After he had calmed down enough to reason with, she tried talking to him once more.

"Neji," she sighs. "I know what you're thinking. So I'll let you in on a little secret if it'll ease your heart. Naruto and I haven't told anyone yet."

"What, are you pregnant?" Neji asks dully. The medicine she had poured was numbing his brain.

"No," she says, surprised at his near-accurate perception. "But... We're trying. We've stopped using protection. We... We're going to start a family."

Neji nods, happy for her. It still did not dispel his worries.

"And... We've decided. We're going to name our first child after _you_. He will be called Boruto."

Neji was incredibly touched and found himself incredibly flustered and unable to speak. "But... why?"

"You did not hesitate to give your life for Naruto and Hinata in the war. And Naruto told me that you gave Hinata a reason to live again after she was lost. You were always there for her. He left her at your care because he trusted you to make her happy, something Naruto said he couldn't do in the end. If it weren't for you... My Naruto might have died as well and we won't be sitting here having this conversation," she finishes, tearing up.

Shocked, he guiltily looked away.

"I do not deserve the honour," he quietly says. "I have done nothing but resent Naruto for invading a corner of Hinata-sama's heart and unknowingly forging a permanent residence in her conscience."

"Naruto has and always will have a special place in his heart for Hinata too. I will always have a special place in my heart for Sasuke. But that does not mean I want to spend the rest of my life with him any more. I want to continue moving on with my life rather than remain at a standstill. My heart continues to follow the path it chooses and I listen to it. My heart tells me to trust Naruto, and that is what I unhesitatingly do. I can assure you that there are no lingering feelings in Naruto's heart for Hinata. That much he has convinced me."

Naruto and Sakura might be thinking of starting a family together, but Hinata remained an enigma. She told no one what she really wanted, except her freedom. She never revealed what was going on in her mind. His Byakugan was incapable of looking through Hinata's heart and nor could he pretend to always understand her.

He still worried, for Hinata's safety if nothing else. He spent his time brooding after he returned home from the hospital. Soon, he stopped leaving the house completely, wanting to be there when she returned any day.

The evening she was scheduled to return, Sakura came early in the day to deliver him the good news. Hinata had sent the Hokage a pigeon reporting to them that the mission was successful and they were safe. They would return to the village by twilight, if all went well.

She also had a special message for her husband. Sakura showed him the letter so he could read it himself and backed off quietly. His eyes scanned the letter and affirmed her handwriting. He turned his back on her to read and reached the post script.

 _"Please tell my husband that he is my sunflower,"_ the letter read. _"I did not tell him this before I departed because if something were to happen to me and I did not come back alive, I wished to lessen the burden in any way and any remorse he might hold. In recent times, he has developed a habit of constantly worrying and I did not want to add to any suffering on my behalf."_

Everyone knew how much she loved sunflowers. They were her most favourite creation in the world.

She had symbolically called him her... She had told him that she...

He read it again, and again, and stared at her script. He blinked hard; once, twice, and three times. Sakura looked away to give him privacy, but it did not help. He looked incredibly vulnerable and appeared as if supporting himself suddenly became a tedious task.

She held his hand and put her arm around his shoulder as he clenched his eyes and sniffed, finally relenting and resting his forehead on her shoulder. He shook as she held him and his white eyes leaked his transparent fears and emotions, swelling and transforming into red as he continued to relieve himself of his pent up emotions and worries.

She stayed with him till his wife returned and prepared soup so he could swallow down something. He hadn't downed a morsel of food since he woke up. She was anxiously awaiting the arrival of her goofy blonde companion as well and had to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She also had to be the strong one to keep them both pacified as well, or as much calmness as they could muster.

She tried to keep him distracted by chattering endlessly, as was her habit of dispelling nervousness. He listened, but his eyes kept wandering out the window. It was past evening and he was beginning to get restless again.

They went to sit on the bench out on the grounds. Even then he kept looking over to the door of the compound, which was kept closed.

She returned after the dusk had settled around them. She jumped in over the wall with Kō and they both landed inside.

As soon as he saw her, he got up and ran towards his wife, forgetting everything. It was only her vision which dominated his mind. She had just gotten up and was dusting herself, not having noticed him yet. She saw him approaching only when he was almost upon her. She had barely raised her arms when he grabbed both sides of her head, crashing his lips against hers.

His kisses were meant to show her, to prove to her, and to make her comprehend the manner in which he had missed her. His rival, Kō, smiled at the rare emotions Neji almost never displayed as he walked past them into the house, nodding at the pinkette standing by the bench.

Sakura thought about leaving quietly. The girl was unsure when exactly was the right time to approach them without disturbing them, or how she should leave without being rude.

Hinata caught her eye and gently touched Neji's shoulders by her fingertips to pull them apart lightly and break their kiss. Even then he didn't let her go as if fearing that as soon as he did, she'd vanish again in front of his eyes.

"Sakura, you should stay for dinner," she said, blushing as Neji held her and unashamedly nuzzled her neck. He was completely oblivious to their surroundings.

Sakura refused. She stated with a meaningful look at Neji that she won't impose on their reunion.

"Maybe I'll pay you guys a visit tomorrow. Till then, I have my own reunion to look forward to."

Hinata smiled at her. In her mission, she had seen how forlorn Naruto was throughout. It had not been hard to seek comfort in loneliness as she was rather downcast as well. He had kept talking and praising Sakura endlessly and how she made him happy. He had continued on to voice his fears to her, like how he might fail to ever come up to her expectations. They had shared advice back and forth and Hinata had given him a few pointers about how he could keep the fire burning alive.

 _"Neji-kun does this thing," she had gestured to Naruto, blushing furiously. "He runs his fingers down my thoracic spine and caresses me over and over. It... It excites me to no end. Other than that, we always have the lights dimmed as he rubs me down. It makes things more sensual and heightens the pleasure."_

 _"I'll try that," Naruto said thoughtfully. "In the meanwhile, why don't you try being dominant for once? I love it sometimes when Sakura-chan takes the initiative and acts like a real tigress in bed. And I know Neji very well. He acts all high and mighty and above all that. He's only comfortable in a marked territory but he's the type who'll be as helpless as a child when you make him travel on to the unknown. He'll be begging you for mercy when you so much as make the first move. He doesn't expect you to, which would make things all the more exciting."_

Hinata had nearly fainted listening to such boldness and daring. All the while back, she was left to wonder if she would ever pluck the courage to do even a fraction of things Naruto was implying.

Sakura left, and she had barely walked out the door when Neji picked up where they had left off, not that he had restrained much before. He thought that he was the one hungry with desire, but he was in for a surprise of his life.

He found himself thrown back against the cold ground as she climbed over him, fingers combing back his hair. As he looked on in wide-eyed panic as they ventured in unfamiliar territory, she tore away the band he wore on his forehead as she caressed it, touching it with her lips. His breathing increased as she traced his marking with her tongue, leaving open-mouthed kisses in their wake.

She nibbled at his skin as she traced it downwards to his earlobe, giving bird-like kisses on his eyes and temples. His body spasmed as if latched on to a defibrillator as she traced his ear with her tongue as she chewed it tenderly. He was unable to stop a few loud groans from escaping his lips. He has never felt so trapped before, unsure how to move without sinking in further.

Her hand returned to his chest and she felt his heart hammering rapidly underneath his ribs. Tracing his well-made torso with her fingers, she had only a small idea of how much she affected him. Being in control made her feel powerful, but she still could not comprehend the complete extent of the power she held over him and the rights which had been ticketed in her favour alone.

Even to the most casual of eyes, he wore his heart out on a sleeve. And even with her superior ones, she was too modest to consider or believe that his heart beats for her alone. She had always viewed him as someone with admirable strength and confidence who hid his feelings well. All that had been thrown out the window when he stood - or rather lay - in a territory he was vastly unfamiliar in.

Oh, how she had missed his embrace. How she had missed the comfort only his arms provided. So used to it as she was that in her mission she had at first been unable to fall asleep without missing him terribly. She had almost cried out a few nights out of sheer loneliness as she woke up shivering, missing his arms around her.

Resting her cheek against his chest, she splayed her arms around him and allowed him to wrap her around in his as she dug in further. She sighed contentedly, lying there over him. Forgetting about the world and losing track of time, they did not know how long they lay there.

* * *

 **A/N: Am I still going too fast? I don't know why I feel that things developed too fast between them. But then again, I want to introduce some real heat as I have planned in the next chapter and raise the rating to M already. Let me know what you think!**


	6. Shocking Inclinations

**A/N: Wow, I updated very quickly didn't I? ^.^ It's because I was excited, happy, I can, and I love NejiHina :D This chapter is quite long, and it was becoming even longer than it currently is, so I ended up cutting a few things down.**

 **I was also excited to finally introduce a Hanabi interaction. That bundle of cuteness is often portrayed as an antithesis of Hinata and evil in fics. Keeping the evil factor still in the sense that she's no one to mess with or get in her way, I think a sarcastic and teasing Hanabi is far more fun!  
**

 **Anyway, moving on. Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Part 6:**

 _Shocking Inclinations_

* * *

They stayed in their embrace till Hanabi, her sister, appears on the porch with her hands resting on her hips.

"Your dinner has frozen!" she calls out impatiently. "Nii-chan just got back from her mission Neji-niisan. Let her go already, she's not a baby who has to cry to let you know that she's hungry or needs your attention."

Looking very obviously disgruntled, he lets her go reluctantly. Her sister rolls her eyes.

"You kids still act like hormonal teenagers who can't take your arms off each other," she mutters, "When it's actually my age to find someone like that and indulge in such habits."

His eyes widen in shock. "Preposterous! Anyone who dares to touch you has me to answer to," he declares fiercely.

Hanabi just laughs mischievously and beckons them inside. As Neji stares open-mouthed at the spot Hanabi previously stood, Hinata laughs softly.

"Neji-kun, she's just teasing. Relax."

Taking in a ragged breath, he takes her arm and they go inside.

He feeds her, and her sister exasperatedly repeats that his wife isn't a baby. Ignoring her, he continues to do so.

"Hinata-sama, you must let me help you clean up after," he insists. Hanabi screeched and calls out to her father.

"Chichiue! Neji-niisan is talking inappropriately at the dinner table!"

He blushed up to his ears at the wrong interpretation and Hinata didn't trust herself to look at him, or he'd understand how badly she actually _wanted_ it to happen.

Instead, she watched as he argued with her sister back and forth, doing a terrible job trying to justify himself nor being able to hide the colour on his face.

"I did not intend to mean it in that manner," he insists.

"Oh? Then explain the colour on your face," she argues.

"You embarrassed me!"

"A guilty conscience needs no pointed fingers."

"You're twisting my words!"

"Like a liar improvises his own stories."

"You're manipulating my non-existent intentions!"

"Is a mole visible underneath a thief's beard?"

"What does it matter, she is my wife!"

"And you're sitting at the family dinner table talking inappropriately in front of her younger sister. Where _are_ you, Chichiue?"

He ends up slamming the door to his room because his mind stopped working rationally. Hanabi kept forcing him into a corner. The sound of the door slamming reverberated back at them. Hinata blinks rapidly and looks at her sister with a slight frown on her face as Hanabi falls down laughing.

"There is a special pleasure infested in pulling the elastic of your husband's pants," she giggles, wiping away the tears in her eyes.

Hyūga Hanabi was perhaps the only person who could get away with unashamedly teasing Neji and not face a fierce retaliation from him in turn.

* * *

When Hinata knocked on the door to their bedroom, she felt him use his eyes to check who was standing outside before opening it just a little, only enough so she could enter.

Hyūga Neji was actually afraid of her little sister.

He blushed as he makes eye-contact with her, turning away abruptly. He went to sit on the bed and pretended to search for something in the bedside drawers. She sits beside him and wonders how to get his attention as she slowly takes off her mission vest and other accessories. She had not changed before dinner. She had just washed her hands to eat after coming back as Hanabi was right; she really had been famished.

He fidgeted as he felt her movements beside her. He soon ran out of things to keep him preoccupied. He muttered that he was going to wash up and exited the room in a hurry, but not before casting a wary eye in all directions.

She waited for him to get back but he was apparently waiting for her to fall asleep, because half an hour passed and he did not return.

Forty-five minutes passed and unable to take it any longer, she grabbed her towel and makes her way to the bathroom. She awakened her eyes and confirms him still lying on the tub. She opens the door and crept in.

He had his head resting on the edge, eyes almost closed. He jerks up as he saw her enter.

"Hinata-sama!" he cries out, shocked.

She was standing there shyly, clutching her towel and looking away while biting her bottom lip. She walks closer slowly, hanging the towel on the stand. She stood by the tub for a few seconds, avoiding his shocked gaze. He was sporting a deeper blush than the one she had witnessed before when her sister had relentlessly teased him.

She joins him, entering in fully clothed. She sits on his lap and leans against his chest, arms around his neck. She was soaked till her belly button.

"You were to help me wash up," she whispers softly in his ear. "Or did you forget?"

Shock and embarrassment growing by the instant, Neji was at a loss for words. Hands trembling, he hesitatingly puts his arms around her waist, where she was drenched in water. He couldn't fathom what was happening and didn't know how to react.

He ran his hands down her back absently. He was distracted, trying to find meaning for her sudden change of behavior. What was exactly happening? Was this some sort of twisted genjutsu Hanabi had planned? But no, their eyes always saw through even the strongest of genjutsus.

A few minutes passed without activity. When she saw that he wasn't going to make a move, she gets up slowly to a sitting position, still perched over him. Avoiding his gaze, she slowly takes off her shirt, carefully peeling it away and tossing it aside. His eyes follow her movements, watching her completely mesmerized.

When she saw that she had his undivided attention, she shakes her head to adjust her hair as it pooled on the water and away from her face.

His hands twitch. He aches to touch her and he did not know how much longer he could control himself with her behaviour like that. He was still embarrassed about the discussion which had taken place earlier and he did not know how to react to all that was happening.

She started to unwrap her bindings and he followed her every movement, his trained eyes not missing a thing. When she was down to the last fold, he takes over the task, grabbing her hands and finally with the last of the bindings out of the way, unveiling her lustrous chest. He reached out for her but she wasn't done yet.

She fidgeted with her waistband and had her pants down to her knees before he took over that task as well. Hanging one bare leg over his shoulder, he stripped off her other leg, kissing her toe as he did and taking her toe fingers in his mouth, running his tongue over them. He traced her legs with his tongue till he reached her thighs. Looking at her for permission, he took off the last of the garment covering her modesty and pulled it down over her legs with his teeth, tossing them aside as well.

She feels a fire burning all over her body. She is now naked as the day she was born, just like him. She subconsciously puts her arms around her chest to cover them from his prying eyes.

To make her feel more comfortable, he stops observing her body and holds her chin with his thumb and forefinger as he raises her head.

"Hinata-sama, look at me," he whispers.

She tried not to look at him for as long as possible but as soon as she made eye contact, he closed his own eyes and leaned in to kiss her breath away.

At first, she didn't uncover her chest but gradually, as he deepened the kiss, she slowly did as touched his shoulders lightly. As he opened her mouth with his, both of them blushing furiously with this new level of intimacy, she hugs his wet body tightly against hers, hands digging in his wet hair. He does the same, clutching her intensely against him with her chest pressing against his. As she wraps her legs around his waist, he slowly leans in towards her till her back rested against the other end of the tub. It was then he started to progress downwards.

He kissed her chin and trailed kisses down her neck and breasts. She clenched his shoulders as he licked and kissed and sucked her the centres of her breasts, moans of pleasure escaping her lips.

He went further down and playfully tickled her belly button with his tongue. He traced his tongue down till his face was underwater and he reached her where she was the most sensitive.

She gave a sharp gasp as he found her. Now _this_ had come completely unexpected. She squeezed his hair and only the top of his head bobbed over the water. Continuing his task and discovering the ways she found pleasure in as her legs spasmed around him, he reached up and held her breasts again. His tongue continued to probe at the junction of her legs.

It was too much for her to take. She groans loudly as he kissed her down there and played with her above. It was a sensation unlike one she had ever faced before. Despite being very embarrassed from being touched somewhere so private, she loved every second of it.

She gasps loudly as he started to understand exactly how her body worked and it responded to his movements. He came up for air and kissed her straight on her lips, his hair over his face. He nibbled her lip lightly and she trembled as he held her face. She thought he was done, but apparently he was not.

Taking both of her legs and putting them over each side of his shoulders, she sharply gasps as her hands braced themselves against the sides of the tub and the back of her head surfaced the water as she almost fell at the sudden jerk with which he pulled her lower body in closer to his face. He supported her by clutching the end of the tub, so that her back lay on his arms and she hovered above the water. Now, she could see him as he kissed her between her legs again with an intensity sending shock waves over her whole body.

Her legs twitched and jerked over his shoulders. She wrapped them around his neck but she couldn't stay still. She wanted to see what he was doing to her, but her eyes kept rolling up behind her against her will. She was gasping very loudly, some sounds escaping her lips and she feared that she would soon run out of breath and suffocate. She bit her lip to stop the loud noises escaping her lips. Her hands let go of the sides of the tub and holds her own breasts, her teats having hardened so much that they almost hurt.

Finally, her bitten lip could not contain her ecstasy. She threw her head back and let out a scream which she had been holding in for so long as she reaches her end.

He pulled her towards him as they rested on their backs, gasping. He had his back against the tub and she had her back against his chest as he spooned her, arms around her stomach. He rested his chin on her head and wrapped her with his legs. She could feel him as hard as a rock beneath her.

She turns to face him. She kisses him and leans against him as his arms snake around her back. She could taste herself on his lips still as she licks and nibbles on them in the process. She heard his thumping heartbeat and knew what she should do.

She reaches down and holds him. He immediately stiffens as she begins her stroking. She gulps as she holds his very impressive length for the first time and wonders how it would feel once he was inside her; she did not know if she was ready for it yet. Maybe she just lacked courage?

His arms tighten around her as she continued her stroking. Taking that as a sign and making a quick decision, she looks down and went down between his legs and took him in her mouth, so that he could finish as well.

He lets out a tortured groan as he was caught off-guard again. He hadn't been expecting her actions in the least. Everything was happening as if he was in a dream.

She could feel him contort even though she could only take less than half of his length inside her mouth. That was her limit, supposedly. He grits his teeth as he squeezed her hair and once again lets out a tortured moan. He couldn't take it any longer. He pulls her away forcefully, grabbing both sides of her face as he raises her above the water. She looks at him with those innocent eyes, sliding her hair away from her face.

"Hinata-sama... Please stop, I beg of you..." he pleads, breathing like he had run a race.

She just blinks back at him innocently, not understanding what he meant.

"I... I will do something to hurt you. I fear I might... I might lose control completely," he says, eyes rounded in fear.

As she continues to look at him with her muffled breathing, he groans.

"Please, stop looking at me like that," he cries as he squeezes his eyes shut.

She shook her head indignantly and pulled his face to him as their lips touched. She was surprised that he was actually resisting. It was the first time she was witnessing him holding back. He was always so careful with his control and appeared as if nothing bothered him.

Letting out a frustrated howl, he reverses their position so that she had her back against the wall of the tub. He poised himself above her and the desire burning in his eyes pleadingly asked a question, desperation unhidden.

She was suddenly very nervous and breathed heavily as she looks at him hovering above her. He waits for her to calm down but she shudders. He holds her face and looks at her directly in the eyes.

"This is what I want to do to you," he quivers. "This is what I _will_ do to you if you do not stop. But you should realize, we do not have to do this if you're not ready."

She closed her eyes in answer, biting her lips. As she opens them, he almost missed what she said next.

"I... I want to," she speaks in a very low voice. She closes her eyes again so she wouldn't have to see him staring down at her. Her deep blush told him she was actually serious and not saying just for his sake.

He touches her modesty and inserts his fingers, making way for his encounter and confirming where he should land. He holds her hands and raises them above their heads, intertwining their fingers and clenching them tightly as they braced themselves for impact. He tries to give her strength as she looks him in the eyes but the truth was that he was perhaps even more nervous than her.

As he backs a little to make way, he stops midway as he almost lurched forward because she once again squeezes her eyes shut and throws her head back before they even touched. If he didn't know any better, he thought she was hyperventilating. Her mouth was open as she made painful, strangled noises which sounded almost like she was sobbing. She was shivering all over. Tears leak from her eyes as her body convulsed, ones she was trying so hard to hold back.

Grabbing both sides of her face again, he tries to calm her.

"You're not ready," he whispers. He holds her head against his chest so that she could ease her breathing. He runs a hand through her head. "My Lady Hinata, it's okay. We don't have to do this."

"N-No," she tries to protest as she touches his manhood and brings it towards her so that they touched. She tries to get him to move with her as she rubs against him.

He just shakes his head as he grabbed her hand and pulled it away. He gets up suddenly, wrapping a towel around his waist. He splashes cold water on his face repeatedly before putting his head under the running water. As he whips away his hair from his face, he rubs his eyes and forehead as he takes in a shuddering breath. Sanity and serenity returns to his face. He smiles at her as she looks at him with disappointment in her eyes.

"Do not fret, Lady Hinata. We have forever to look forward to, but tonight is not the night you're ready, of that I can assure you. But it does not matter. It will have to be another time."

She hides her face behind her hands as she breaks down crying.

"I... I'm sorry," she sobs.

"Shhhh," he hushes her, bending on one knee beside the tub and holding her to him. "It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself."

"I'm pathetic! I can't... I can't even provide pleasure to my husband," she cries.

His face suddenly grows grim. He pulls her back as he stares intently in her eyes.

"Lady Hinata, I can forgive everything and anything you do or say. But I will never forgive you for thinking this way again," he says fiercely. "Do not ever think that you have to force yourself to do anything at my expense. That is solely my role, and I do it of my own free will."

She hiccups. "B-But..."

He puts a finger on her lips to silence her. "If you knew... If you only knew how much you affect me. If I had ever let you know how much just being with you makes me happy, you will circle the globe a thousand times before uttering such nonsense ever again."

Her eyes well up with tears again and he stops her crying by kissing her softly, tasting her tears as they fell over her lips.

He towels her dry before himself, taking care to touch every inch of her body. He carries her to their room, where he dresses her so she wouldn't get cold. She was utterly exhausted and she struggled to keep her eyes open and her head kept lolling. He carries her to their bed and tucks her in. After dressing himself, lies down beside her and pulls her against him, falling asleep with her in his arms and the smell of his shampoo in her hair. She had been the one pick it out for him. She smelled like sunflowers and pine.

* * *

She woke up suddenly in the middle of the night when she had a falling sensation in her dream. It was something which occasionally happened to her on her missions when she awoke in the middle of the night and remembered that she wasn't back home in the arms of the man she had just started loving. It had been terrible and she had gone through those long nights alone. It had not mattered that Naruto and Kō were not that far off.

Looking at the said man sleeping peacefully beside her, she touches his cheek with her fingers. He opens his eyes partway, and witnessed the love awaken in hers.

"Hinata-sama?" he whispers sleepily. "You must be exhausted after your mission, yet you wake up so suddenly."

She blushed. "Actually, what you made me experience a few hours ago has a part in my exhaustion as well," she confesses.

He winces. "Please don't remind me of that, I'll be unable to fall back asleep. My mind is a cruel mistress. It will wrestle my thoughts, making me stay up the whole night trying to archive the memories forever."

She smiles as she kissed his forehead. "Don't worry, Neji-kun," she whispers. "I'm just... Just happy that you are next to me."

He closes his eyes and smiles as she clutches him. He feels her snuggle closer to him as he wandered off to sleep once more. If he could stop time, he wished to lie like this forever.


	7. Unanswered Questions

**A/N: Back again with another update! The reason this took a bit longer to upload is because I recently started out with a new idea I had in my mind (my other fic called Words, Hands, & Hearts) and I had to write it out before it fluttered out of my mind. Rest assured I am still very loyal to this fic, and the reason this chapter ended a bit abruptly (and in a sort of cliffy, please don't hate me) is because I wanted to get an update out.**

 **Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Let me explain, it was my original intention to show lingering feelings between Naruto and Hinata as well, but I just wanted to get a NejiHina steamy scene out before. However, to complete the angst and hurt, I still intend to do that.** **You'll find out why in the next chapter.**

 **In the meanwhile, enjoy this chapter and as always, let me know what you think! ^.^**

* * *

 **Part 7**

 _Unanswered Questions_

* * *

They woke up by a knock on their door. Before anyone could respond, the person outside slid aside the shōji and entered with a vacuum cleaner, humming a toneless melody loudly. As soon as she saw the sight before her eyes, she quickly apologized as she closed the door and left in a hurry.

Awakening his eyes, he saw the person had been the housekeeper who came in the morning for cleaning. She was a member of the Branch, and he had always suspected she gossiped about everyone to anyone in the compound. Soon, the whole house would be buzzing with the gossip of how Neji Hyūga and his wife had been caught in a compromising position.

It was not technically the housekeeper's fault, so he couldn't blame her. She had entered not knowing that the lady had returned the previous night. She had been in no worry to encounter anything, or she would've waited for his approval first before entering, or used her eyes first before knocking.

It was a general rule in the household of the Hyūga not to use their Byakugan unnecessarily, and definitely not in the lodgings. But it was a poorly kept secret that everyone did anyway, especially to avoid accidents like this one or when they came upon a padlocked door.

Both their hair and half-worn gowns did little to cover most of their skin, but the thing which had struck out the most had been the tangled mess of the sheets their legs made as they struggled to keep themselves wrapped around and over each other.

She had also been holding and cuddling his face against her chest as they slept and his arms held her to him possessively. Due to the commotion the maid had made, Hinata got up suddenly as well and quickly pulled herself away, covering herself. Blushing, he turned his back to her and did the same.

* * *

At the breakfast table as he sipped his tea, Hanabi purposefully took a seat beside him. He flinched but kept his cool, conveniently ignoring her.

"So," she started as she grabbed a toast. "How was last night?"

Nwji kept a straight face. "Nice try Hanabi-chan," he muttered.

"Hanabi-chan," Hinata spoke from his other side. "Stop it."

Hanabi raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What's gotten you blushing? It's not like I said anything. I only meant to ask if you had a good night's sleep. That is, if you slept at all anyway."

Neji pointedly looked away as Hinata answered, feigning ignorance. "Of course I did Hanabi-chan. I was tired from my mission."

"Were you?" Hanabi asked playfully.

"Hanabi," Neji said sternly as he braced himself mentally for impact, knowing he was setting himself into a trap but not wanting to let Hanabi get away with it. "Please make your meaning clear. What is it that you intend to say?"

"Oh, nothing," Hanabi drawled as she buttered her toast. "I was just wondering about the noises I heard last night."

Neji grabbed Hinata's thigh to keep her from gasping out loud, but her stricken expression did not pass by unnoticed.

"What noises, I wonder," Neji said stoically. "Did you fetch Hiashi-sama to investigate?"

"I didn't need to," Hanabi insisted. "I did a little investigating myself. "You see, I had gotten up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet."

Hinata was steadily heating up more and more. However, Neji was sure that if Hanabi had peeped, he would've felt her gaze, like each Hyūga could feel being spied upon.

"And," Neji encouraged her, smirking. "What did you find?"

Hanabi took a bite out of her buttered toast. "Are you sure you want to know, Neji niisan?"

"I'm sure you'll enlighten me anyway," Neji muttered.

"That you're right about," she admitted. "But do you want to venture a guess?"

"No. That'll just waste our time."

"Okay, you are right about that," she said as she downed her toast with a sip pf tea. She looked around the table to catch everyone's eye. "Well, I was afraid you see, when I heard-"

Neji snorted, interrupting her. That fiery little imp of the devil, afraid? It was laughable if the joke wasn't so lame. Anyone who knew Hanabi could confirm her audacity and deter-mindedness.

"... So I went to my nii-san and nii-chan's room to get help," she continued. "But... imagine my surprise when they weren't there, well past a normal person's bedtime."

Hinata's fingers held the table tightly, turning white. Neji grabbed her hand to keep her calm, wondering if Hanabi _had_ actually spied on them. It was highly unusual for him not to notice or feel a pair of awakened Byakugan staring at him from any direction.

"The noises, you see, were coming from the bathroom," Hanabi went on with her story. "So I went up to the door and put my ear to it, to confirm if they were indeed coming from inside. They were animal-like noises and it almost sounded like someone dying."

Eyebrows raised as the other Hyūga at the table leaned in even closer to catch every word, clearly intrigued by her story. Neji felt his face start to burn but he tried to keep a calm demeanour still, even as he shook and his fingers trembled. He clenched the table-edge tightly to hide it. He dreaded Hanabi's next works. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare himself mentally as she hit him next with which he now feared she was correct in assuming, or perhaps conveying what she actually saw.

"And then I saw, with my own eyes mind you, that..."

At that moment, Hiashi Hyūga made his entrance and everyone was silenced. Hinata breathed a huge sigh of relief as Neji inhaled a weak breath, coughing in the process.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji said as soon as the Head was seated. He pushed his chair back. "I need to be excused. Your _crafty_ daughter has made me lose my appetite."

He almost stumbled out of the room. The others snickered at his back, some looking back to check Hinata's reaction.

"What's this?" Hiashi demanded to know. "Did I miss something amusing?"

"Chichiue! Hanabi-chan was talking inappropriately at the breakfast table and tried to invade the privacy of my husband last night, and mine as well," Hinata complained as she whined in the process.

As a smirking Hanabi received an earful from Hiashi about how a lady of the house, especially one who was his daughter, should properly behave and how he would have given her a good spanking if she was younger, Hinata sneaked away from the table as well, to check up on her husband.

* * *

She followed him, finding him again having shut himself in their room and only opening when he had affirmed that it was indeed her. He looked away.

"Neji-kun, look at me," she requested.

He did so reluctantly and once he met her eyes, she came up to him and put her hands on his chest. She looked up at him with affection in her eyes. He held her to him, arms around her waist, and touched his forehead to hers.

She took his hand and led him towards the other end of the compound, towards the Branch side of the house and where Neji previously used to live. The bathroom in this side of the house had a shower. As everyone else was presumably still at the breakfast table, she opened the door and led him in. He followed without any argument or resistance, because the desire to have her all to himself again had peaked to a fever.

She held her arms loosely as he untied her kimono, and they stepped inside the shower. As the warm spray hit them, his hair hung down wet over his forehead. She caressed it away and hugged him against her, her breasts slamming into his chest, already making him hard.

He kissed her lips and intertwined their fingers, pushing her against the wall and successfully trapping her. He held one leg up and wrapped it around him. She bit her lips as he touched her modesty and inserted his fingers inside her. Her hands dangling down his shoulder, she clung onto him with her nails and as her sharp gasps complemented the blush on her face. The hot water just ignited her pleasure, it seemed. If you had asked her yesterday, she would not have believed that the act of loving someone could be so enjoyable.

Panting, she clutched her stomach as she made her release, feeling like she had just dropped a precipice she had been hanging on to. He closes his eyes and nuzzled her after she was done, moving to the hollow between her breasts as he trailed his kisses upwards.

His eyes flutter open as he looks up at the ceiling. He removes a hand from around her pelvis and reaches up to run a finger down her arm. Even with the warm water upon them, she shivered.

As he lifts her up again, she wraps her legs around his waist and nibbles his earlobe.

"You taste so good," she whispers in his ear and Neji blushed like a newly-wedded virgin bride.

"H-Hinata-sama... You're growing bolder," he stammered.

Hinata giggled lightly. "And you've taken to stuttering. Things are turning quite the other way around I assume. You've grown far too insecure."

Neji slowly let her down as his head drooped. Then he lifted his arm and slammed his hand against the wall, right beside her face. She rested her cheek against it and her eyes closed. He raised the other arm to feather and feel her face.

"I... I thought you left me willingly on your mission... To... to be with another man..."

Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at the ceiling too, avoiding eye-contact.

"The only man I want to be with is you," she says as she reaches over and moves the hair off his shoulder to provide an opening for her to touch his skin. She clutched it, looking up to meet his hazy eyes which softened every time he saw her, she swallowed down her guilt. It did not escape his notice that she had avoided answering the former part of his question, or answered the latter properly either.

He looks at her straight, his heart jack hammering inside his chest as he finally forced himself to ask the next question. "But... do you love me?"

Hinata looked away, a mixture of hurt and guilt palpable in her eyes.

Neji swallowed, his Adam's apple moving up and down as he saw the love she held in her eyes last night but was unable to vocalize it. Was it love for him, or did she still think about another? Was it hurt that she couldn't return his feelings even a little?

He had never dared to hope that she would look at him someday with such caring eyes. He had hidden his affections for so long that coming out in the open unnerved him. He had initially thought he would die with his secret buried with him when he put himself in front of her constantly to shield her from the constant onslaught of attacks back in the war. But he needn't any longer. She was in this journey with him, his constant companion.

She deserved to know.

He tried to build up the courage to tell her as he inhales a sharp breath. She looks on, a slight twinge of the eyebrows indicating her confusion.

He turns around to switch off the shower tap and wraps her in a towel, getting serious. Today, he finds out the true state of her mind once and for all. Today, he will hear the answers to his questions. Today, he lets her know.

"Hinata-sama..." he almost chokes out, afraid to end this fantasy world he had landed upon, yet he knew he had to face it sooner or later. The longer he was stuck in it, the more the hurt will be. Now, the choice was hers alone whether she finally accepted him or rejected him.

"Hinata-sama... There... there is something you need to know."


	8. Confessions

**A/N: Bla bla bla very busy bla bla bla sorry bla bla bla still loyal to this story bla bla new update!**

 **Basically what everyone says when they take long to update. Hopefully this story is not yet forgotten!**

* * *

 **Part 8:**

 _Confessions_

* * *

They did not get time to talk their hearts out immediately, or to confess. It was not until after the entire events of the day during which they both had errands to run and a few things to look after, and a sister named Hanabi to dodge who, like her namesake, had the uncanny habit of exploding like fireworks at any given moment. After tending to a few guests as well and bidding them farewell, they were finally able to retire to their room for their overdue conversation.

When they were finally changed and rested comfortably on the bed, Neji tried to speak.

"Hinata-sama... There is something I wish for you to know."

"No, Neji-kun, I absolutely insist that you let me go first," she cried, tears springing into her eyes as she sat up, hair falling over her face. Shocked, Neji stayed silent, letting her go on. What could she have to say which was more important than his final confession?

"Before I go on, I need your promise. I need your word that if you cannot, then you will at least try with all your heart to forgive me for all the wrongs I have done and the hurt I have caused you."

Neji was absolutely shocked. What was she saying?

"You need to know why I could not allow you close last night, no matter how hard I tried."

Neji's eyes wavered at her worryingly. Was it not because she was afraid of the consequences of their actions or her inflicted trauma related to the act of making love?

"You care so much about me. Any other man in your position would never have hesitated at the opportunity which was provided to you yesterday, particularly when I was asking you to do it as well. You were right, Neji-kun," she cries. "I was disloyal to you, even though you never set any boundaries for me. I still loved another even though the basis of our marriage was purely based on a form of contract stating that we could go on leading our own lives with no restrictions. But no! No, I cannot let this go on. I just can't let you carry all the pain you carry all on your own. You deserve to know."

" _I_ deserve to know? What?" Neji coughed. What was she saying?

"Yes, Neji! I still have feelings for Naruto-kun, and I always will have! The whole point of my mission was for me to understand my own feelings, whether I still really felt the same for him and whether I was strong enough to move on still. I have grown so close to you that I cannot bear to think about being separate from you any longer. I thought that by making love to you, I could rid myself off of those lingering feelings for... _him_."

Neji's blood ran cold. He tried to stretch his fingers to see if there was still feeling left in them, but apparently his blood was affecting his movements.

"So you see why it is not fair for me to indulge you, or entertain your feelings further in the matter. I do not want to use you any more, even though you always say that you're acting of your own free will. I want to come out completely clear and I do not want you to go on loving me like you are doing. It is wrong. I... I do not want to lead you on and neither do I want to ever hurt you or be the cause of your pain."

"But," Neji croaked. "What of your declarations of... When you said that... When you said that you want to be with... _Me?_ "

Hinata shook her head, sending her tears flying.

"I did not lie, Neji-kun. I really _do_ want to be with you. And with time, I know I can begin to love you. You're _right_ for me. It is not Naruto that I want to be with even though I still have feelings for him. I will always do and nothing will change that. But that's not what I care about. He... I have seen that he will never care for me to the extent that you do and it makes me all the more guilty that I am not able to love you back as much. When you love someone truly, there is never a moment's hesitation to admit it, even to your own heart."

"But I love _you_!" Neji cries, tears erupting from his eyes and lingering on his lids.

Shocked, Hinata looked at him, the man who had always held his feelings inside and never asked for anyone's sympathy. That same man sat in front of her right now, barely able to conceal his own tears as he finally admitted what he longed for her to understand.

"I've been waiting forever, trying to build up the courage to tell you that. I... I'm sorry Hinata-sama. I have failed you. I lied to you. I have... I have always loved you."

Hinata's heart beats so loud and furious that she could barely hear her own thoughts. Had he not asked to marry her because it would shut the constant muttering of the Council? Had not the basis of their marriage just been on paper? Had he... loved her, knowing that she loved Naruto?

"I..." His voice trembles and he looks away, unable to look at her big eyes full of emotion and hurt. "I have always known that you loved Naruto. I had seen it with my own eyes, and I knew you could never be mine. But as selfish as I was, I still... I still wanted to be close to you and not let him have you. It killed me, it killed me every second when I saw you with him. When I first saw you kissing Naruto..." he swallows hard and clenches his teeth, the muscle rippling along his jawline. "It took all I had inside of me not to pummel him. When you chose to marry me and not him... It was like a dream finally come true, even though I knew you loved Naruto and could never be mine. That was the reason you chose me in the first place, because you were under the impression that I did not love you. I have only ever cared about what you wanted because that has become the primary purpose of my existence, and I thought that was enough to keep me happy, but it apparently wasn't! Because... Because I... I don't think I can bear to ever see you with anyone else."

She climbs onto his lap, straddling his waist. Her arms went up to his chest to steady herself.

"I don't want to ever be with anyone else," she says, arms wrapping around his neck as she leaned in close, letting her tears fall on his chest. How she cursed herself at that moment for loving another still!

He shook his head. "But I restrained, because you were happy. Your happiness is _all_ that matters to me, even if it means I cannot have you! Hinata-sama, when I asked for your hand in marriage, it was not only because I wanted you to be free. It was also because... Because I could not let anyone else have you, no matter how hard I tried to keep my emotions in check!"

He sniffs, finally succumbing to his emotions. She lets him cry on her shoulder, shaken to the core by his revelation. She had always suspected that Neji harbored feelings for her. In fact, she had grown certain of the fact when he had first taken to holding her while she slept. But she had _never_ known that the extent of his feelings ran so deep, or even that far back.

"How long?" she asked quietly, her arms falling from around his neck.

Neji struggled to look up at her to meet her eyes, his white eyes tinted red with tears he was still trying to hold back, though he had nothing left to hide from her any more.

"Since you were three, and I was four," he whispers. "Since the moment I first laid my eyes on you and since the moment you graced my life with your sweet presence."

Hinata gasps, her mind reeling. "But... But you hated me! You... you tried to kill me!"

Neji winces. "I only hated you because I hated _myself_. I hated myself for still feeling that way about you when I tried with all my might to hate the Main House. I hated the fact that I could not bring myself to hate you, _ever_. I hated how you were weak, and how your weakness made me want to protect you all my life, _with_ my life. I was stronger, yet I was destined to be someone unimportant. I hated you for seeing right through me, for seeing the struggles I was going through myself. I... I hated you for making me feel that way, and by hurting you, I thought I was freeing myself of those emotions. But I found out I couldn't. I found out that I never can."

"You... You've loved me... All these years?" Hinata asks.

All these years, when she was so busy chasing after Naruto, she had never once realized that there was someone who was doing exactly the same for her. Understanding rushed in as she imagined what he must have gone through, because _she_ had gone through the exact same things whilst chasing Naruto.

Neji once more looks away, and that was an answer in itself.

"Why... Why didn't you let me know sooner?"

Neji again looks up, struggling to meet her eyes. "I did not want to hurt you, Hinata-sama. Neither did I want to scare you away. If I had told you before, you would have wanted nothing to do with me. You would not have listened to me, hung out with me, laughed with me, talked to me, or let me watch over you all this time. As long as I had you close to me, I wanted to risk nothing to change that fact. You were going through a tough time, and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted you to allow me to be closer to you. I wanted to help you carry that weight. I wanted to take over."

Her breath tickled his face as she leaned closer still. Neji was scared; he wanted to back off but his desire for her remained as strong as ever.

"Say it again," she whispered, their wet eyelashes touching. She felt his cheek lightly with her fingers, feeling the wetness of his cheeks.

"I..." he swallowed. "Hinata-sama... I have... I have always loved you. And I always will. Not as a brother loves a sister, and not as one friend who loves another. But rather as a man who blindly loves a woman. As does a husband who loves his wife knowing all her flaws and still choosing to accept her and be accepted."

Hinata held his other cheek as well, so that she was cupping his face in her hand.

"Why?" she cried. "Why do you love someone as worthless as me? Someone you know who loves another still?"

Neji grabbed her shoulders as he looked at her wide white orbs.

"I will never stop loving you," he whispers. "No matter what you do and whoever you choose... I will always wait for you. And..."

Hinata choked back a sob, looking at him desperately and willing him not to say the next words, but in vain.

"... I will always love you," he says, making it sound as simple as that.

It was her turn to sob as she buried her face on his chest, clenching her fingers on his shirt. He held her close to him. This man, who had dedicated his whole life to her, who loved her unconditionally, and she still found her heart wandering back to a blonde man with a goofy smile. She was still unable to love her husband irrevocably even though she knew that it was truly him her heart desired. Yet, her heart insisted on playing games with her.

She kissed him, trying to put all her emotions into it. Her kisses were like feathers to him as he dug his fingers in her hair and kissed her back in equal passion.

Hinata finally knew what she had all along suspected. No matter how strongly her mind was telling her that what she was doing was not right, that she was fanning an already out-of-control fire, it was useless. It felt like a slave to her own body. Neji's touch filled her whole and his advances had already stirred a deep hunger inside her.

He softly made-out with her again as she continued to hold his face between both her palms. He groaned, his hot breath tickling her face, sending goosebumps down her arms.

"Neji," she whispered as she broke the kiss. She kissed him again, almost having her breath sucked out. He groaned desperately in response once more, and Hinata's insides seemed to clench in anticipation. She wanted something from him.

"Neji," she repeated, uttering his name over and over. He kissed her back in response, his lips trembling over hers.

"Neji!" she called out to him, her voice becoming more insistent. He grabbed her hair harder still, unable to hold back as her voice controlled him and his urges. He groaned over her mouth, sending goosebumps down her arms. They were ignited in a new form of passion, one when she finally knew, and did not care.

"Mine," he murmured as he held her close to her. He tilted her head back, gaining access to her clear throat. He stooped down and nuzzled her, sniffing her deeply as his fingers trailed down.

She threw her head back, leading him down, her brain clouding over and her eyes rolling behind her head.

"Yours," she finally whispered in reply, sucking in a deep breath as he used his tongue to caress all her soft spots which he had memorized and could spot without the Byakugan.


	9. A Night of Passion and Insane Lust

**A/N: I waited so long to get to this chapter, and spent even more time wondering about the detail I wanted, but it's here finally :P Again, I apologize for the late update, a lot of shit has been happening in my life lately and I want my NejiHina to be perfect, not something I want to get over with quickly as I enjoy writing each word.**

 **WARNING: Hot weather ahead! You have been warned :D**

* * *

 **Part 9:**

 _A Night of Passion and Insane Lust_

* * *

 _"If you start to feel for me even a little of something remote as your feelings for Naruto, I would worship your body and make it my temple," Neji said. "I'd come to praise you constantly and pray regularly, and treat you with all the love and care you deserve. Once you recognize your feelings for me Hinata, and decide for yourself what you want, call for me. I'll just be an arm's distance away and delight you in any way you want. But till then, you need time... And space."_

That's what he had said last time they almost made love. And Hinata had finally decided what she wanted, and the time to wait was over. She wanted to be with her husband; a man who had loved her for eternity and convinced her he would continue to do so till the end of time.

He held her legs and pulled her towards him carefully such that she rested on her back as he loomed over her. He was gentle, gentler than she could ever have expected. He genuinely cared about what she wanted and his actions displayed that. He did not hold her tightly against him to prevent her escape. As his elbows rested on both sides of her, holding him up, they trembled ever so slightly at the unsure decisions which were to follow, and Hinata half-suspected that he was also beginning to lose his control, if he had not lost it already.

As his breath tickled her chin once more, she began to realize just exactly how much she was attracted to him. She had tried to hold back and deny her body's natural response and attraction towards him. She had tried to hold back and deny her own feelings but as she looked back at him and felt his lashes on her fingertips, she realized she was completely smitten and if she continued, she could never look back. As he dipped down once more, their noses touched, but he did not kiss her. He gave her all the chance to push him back, but she didn't.

He ran his tongue over her lips, feeling them, before gently probing them to which she eagerly responded by opening her mouth. As their tongues rolled together, she felt each of his teeth, pleasuring herself by getting further acquainted with his mouth. When he pulled back tenderly, she could still feel his lips imprinted on hers. He trailed kisses down her jaw and neck, licking her jaws and chin before proceeding to her neck, where he sniffed deeply. She shuddered. He was lost, eyes closed as he sniffed deeply.

His fingers trailed down her body, feeling her feminine shape as they came to rest on her hips. When they began their ascent once more, his fingers crept under her shirt and they tickled her skin. When they placed themselves over her breasts, she sighed. But as they suddenly slipped under the fabric confining them, she flinched. She squirmed, thinking she could shake him off that way but either he was persistent or she wasn't really making that much of an effort to push him off. Either way, he probed further till he had her breasts fitted neatly into his palms. As he kneaded them, she sucked in a deep breath of pleasure. Again, she was startled but how gentle he was, much gentler than anything she had ever experienced.

"You have a beautiful body, Hinata-sama" he said as he kissed her bellybutton and trailed his tongue over her, his hands not leaving their hold on her.

Hinata knew he was lying. Tears sprung up once again.

"Don't," she whispered.

"Don't what?" He prompted.

"Don't lie," she said.

"But I'm not lying," Neji said, appearing confused.

"Don't try to flatter me with your false praises," Hinata said, failingly trying to raise her voice but found herself whimpering in the process. God she was pitiful.

It was then that he realized what she was implying; she was a used vessel. His face darkened.

"I have already killed the men responsible for making you think that way," he said. "And I have already warned you never to think of yourself that way again. It is my job to please you, and please you I shall."

His mouth closed in over her right nipple, tongue playing with it as his lips sucked.

Like every girl, Hinata also had her fantasies where she would be loved gently and yet with a combination of firmness. It was up to the man of her dreams to know exactly what he was doing. So far, the reality was turning out to be better than her fantasy, as occasionally she would feel Neji's tongue on her lips. She started to kiss him with an open mouth, inviting as ever for their tongues to meet in a rush of heat and insane lust. Neji would softly enter her mouth, roll around his tongue to feel the inner surroundings, then would return to kissing Hinata's lips again.

He then proceeded with to kiss all over her face, laying the softest of kisses on her forehead, nose, eyes and finally her cheeks. He then started moving southwards little by little, starting with her neck. Even though she was aware at some level of her consciousness of what was going on, the thought of Neji moving downwards on her body started to send chills up her spine again. Such was her state even when nothing had happened yet. He was enjoying sucking her neck, taking his time as her scent was driving him more insane with each passing moment. She had now reached a point of no return. Tingling feelings had started in her nether region and she wanted her husband to satisfy her as soon as possible, modesty be damned. Neji, on the other hand was delaying her pleasure as much as he could, not knowing that Hinata was finally ready.

She grabbed both sides of his head again, and led him down herself.

He lifted his head and his eyes were a big question mark, much like the time they had bathed together, and she knew what he was asking. She responded to him by digging her fingers in his long hair once more and tightening the hold on his head. It was she who initiated the kiss and she could feel his wide mouth in a smile over her own. She responded with an intensity unknown to her.

It was then that he finally decided to make that night the best of her life, leaving nothing to chance, taking everything in his control.

He pulled himself out of her hold as he softly pressed her shoulder into the mattress, making her lie back as he went on to devour her womanhood.

As soon as he made contact down there with his tongue, she let out a moan so deep that it sent him right over the edge. He dug his tongue as deep as he could, feeling the juiciest of wetness inside her, tasting it ever so lovingly. It was an experience she never had before, and Neji was growing more experienced and acquainted with her body. He would roll his tongue around her clitoris before sucking it and sometimes he would stick his tongue in deep.

He then started to penetrate her with two of his fingers as deeply as they would go. His long fingers were already making her feel as if the main course had started, whereas she was well aware it was to follow soon. Yet, the way he felt around the inside of her with his fingers, gently thrusting them in and out, sometimes keeping them in and feeling around the soft and sensitive walls was enough to send her over the moon on cloud nine.

After he was done devouring her, he lifted her legs up, held his manhood in his hands to point it in the right direction, and then approached her slowly. This was it. This is what she had been waiting for all night long, and the buildup had been intense where she had felt the need to beg to be penetrated. And as she was making an attempt to catch her breath, watching him as he watched her, she gave him a look so convincing that he knew that this time, she really wanted it. She nodded, encouraging him.

"Are you sure, Hinata-sama?"

She felt like she would scream, but what she did instead was spread her legs further to provide him all the access he required.

"Yes," she gasped desperately. "Please don't stop now!"

That was all the encouragement he needed.

She knew that she was burning up and that there was a fire down below already. As Neji entered her, moved himself into her, and became one with her did she realize a sudden increase of temperature shoot up in-between her legs.

The first thrust made both of them gasp loudly in unison, and he trembled above her. His head buried below her neck. He had thought that the first one should be sudden and forceful to get the pain over with quickly, just like it was to swallow medicine. Little did he know that it impacted him more than it did her. He was now no longer a virgin and the physical sensation opened doors to an entire universe of new feelings.

They stayed in the position, trying to steady their breathing. Pulling back almost completely after a few seconds, the second thrust came much more slowly and he studied her face for any sign of pain. She felt the most sensational, phenomenal and wildest of tingling feeling enter into her slowly and gradually. She threw her head back as she groaned, her body getting frustrated and desperate as the sensations piled up and she willed him to go faster.

The next few thrusts succeeded each other quickly as he further leaned in to touch his lips against hers, and the red tinting his eyes suggested that the water trickling down his eyes was not just his sweat. His breathing was loud and intense, and her moans made his body tense further. It was as if her life had been sucked out, then pumped back, then sucked out, then pumped back into her again and again, making her lose her breath and her mind. She bit her lips as she came closer to reaching her peak, but couldn't hold back the moans which escaped her lips and the sudden intake of breath as she closed her eyes.

Her coming just quickened his progression to peak and excited him to no end. He pulled back, and she knew with the kind of finality his body language was displaying that the incoming thrust would be the last one. She had already reached her peak when he had kissed her down there, and his was just about to come, and come it did as he ended over her with a tortured groan, and fell face first again much like he did after the first thrust. The whole process had taken a little less than a minute.

Realizing after awhile that his whole body rested against her and she was bearing his weight, he rolled her above him. She couldn't face him and she covered her chest again, a subconscious gesture spawning from her incredible shyness. She lifted herself up, hair falling over her face as she buried her face in her hands.

"Hush," Neji said softly as he covered her in his arms and stroked her hair. He gripped her and pulled her into a cuddle, not letting her go. But she continued to sniff over his chest, softly sobbing. He smelled incredibly good, a mix of his sweat and and something which she couldn't put her finger to. Perhaps it was his unique Neji-smell which made her feel so intoxicated and drunk on his masculinity. She reached up to caress his cheek and felt his dried tears. He was putting on a strong front for her.

They were like that for quite a while. Soon, he coaxed her back into a lying position as he spooned her and she listened to his heartbeat ease, running her fingers over the scars on his chest. She fell asleep and remained that way, in his arms.

At some time during the night, she mounted herself on top of him and his eyes snapped open, wide and alert. She rocked him back and forth, slowly at first, and then quickly. The noises which escaped him sounded alien to his own ears. He tried to control to make it last a bit longer than before but he couldn't, he was so new, but it didn't matter to her. She held her own breasts to contain them as his eyes rolled backwards in his head. He tried to grit his teeth but couldn't stop the groans which signaled his end. Hinata thought they were the manliest of moans, and she was glad she had made him feel that way.

She continued till he went completely soft, and he felt ashamed for his lack of stamina and energy. She found him looking at her moving with hazy eyes less than half closed. He was utterly spent. He was hers to use however she pleased and pleasing her and keeping her happy was his utmost priority.

She hugged herself against him, remaining on top of him and went back to sleep that way, with him still inside her.


	10. Breathing Life

**Part 10:**

 _Breathing Life_

* * *

When they accidentally made eye contact at the breakfast table the next day, he gave a shy, faraway smile like newlyweds hiding an open secret as she bashfully tucked her hair behind her ear.

Her father sat somberly at the head of the table, drinking his tea while his sister sleepily played with the food on her plate, her manner depicting lack of sleep.

"Hanabi," her father scolded. "Did you stay up late again last night?"

"It was not my fault and neither was I given a choice!" she grumbled.

"Why did you choose those words?" Hiashi asked strictly. "You know you have a full day of training ahead."

"But Chichiue! How the hell could anyone expect to sleep peacefully if they slept within a five mile radius to my sister's and brother in-law's room with all the noise they made mating the whole night like a pack of rabbits!" she exasperatedly questioned.

Neji and Hiashi both choked on their tea as Hinata's own face turned bright red. All the other Hyūgas at the table glanced from one face to the other while some snickered and some had their mouths open at the sheer bluntness of the young heiress. Some had actually heard the noises too, but hadn't given them much thought and turned around to go back to sleep.

Her father stared shell-shocked at the words his youngest daughter had uttered and demanded that she go back to her room, because apparently the lack of sleep was fogging her rationality. She shrugged, and snickered as she left, inviting a few others to giggle as well.

Neji pushed his chair back and said that he needed to wash his face, and almost fell as he raced out of the room. The others giggled at his back, a few ladies looking back to check Hinata's reaction.

Later that day, he took her in her arms and kissed her lips and intertwined their fingers, pushing her against the wall, successfully trapping her. He held one leg up as he made his way inside her. He was rougher like this as he entered her. Her sharp gasps complemented the blush on her face. If you had asked her yesterday, she would not have believed that the act of making love could be so enjoyable.

Time passed without their knowledge till a sharp rap interrupted their kisses. It was her sister's whining.

"My eyes! They burn!"

He cursed. It was unusual for them both not to have felt her sister's awakened gaze through the door. He wondered if there would be one time they could enjoy themselves without her sister being privy to their actions.

"Hanabi, what the hell?" he said, his eyes blazing with anger as he tugged on a sleeve quickly to cover himself. Hinata giggled. It was almost funny how Hanabi went out of her way to pick on him.

Hanabi looked back at him just as stubbornly. "Chichiue is asking for you."

Neji sighed. He knew just as well that she could've sent any servant to fetch him, but she chose to do so herself, primarily to be a constant thorn at his side and make his life more miserable. He went to meet her father, and was told that a mission was assigned to him two days later.

A heavy burden was placed on his chest again. Why was it always like this? Just when he would begin to exercise a new form of intimacy with his wife, something would separate them. But what privacy would they even receive with a nosey brat who constantly happened to catch him when he was his most vulnerable?

* * *

Other than just the regular interruptions resulting in the slow progress of their intimacy during the next two days before he left for his mission, she was surprised when she became with child after not even three weeks had passed. Before she could share the news with anyone, she was met with strange, knowing eyes and warm smiles from the entire household even though she was saving the news till her husband returned. She wanted him to be the first one who know, but her plan was obviously a failure. Nothing could be hidden from the eyes of the Hyūga.

When he finally returned and took her in his arms again, he dropped down on his knees and rested his face on her belly with convulsions in his body speaking his feelings. That was when she knew that he did not need to be told as he, like the others, had just noticed it with his own eyes. But she told him anyway.

"I am carrying our child," she informed him as he held her.

His tearful gaze as he held her face so close to his excited her insides. He kissed her with intensity, holding her against him tightly.

Her father later confessed that Hanabi was the first one who noticed that the process had already started in her body soon after her husband left for his mission, and she had confided to their father. They had known even before Hinata realised herself that she was with child.

Her father guiltily admitted that he might have let slip the information to a few more people.

"I might have told the Hokage," he admitted sheepishly. It was hard to tell who was more excited and happy; her father or her husband.

Neji nearly bent over backwards trying to take care of her and satisfying each and every craving she had or mentioned. He did not let her walk unattended nor did he leave her alone for more than a few minutes. He no longer cared if anyone saw or made fun of him, not that he had ever cared much before even.

He fussed when their friends came to congratulate them, and he did not even let their pinkette friend be alone with her for longer than an hour. The reason he even let her remain that long with his pregnant wife was because Sakura, with hands on her hips and a fierce expression on her face had to remind him that she would be the one who would be delivering their child.

That was still not enough to cause even a chink on his overprotective armor. The foetus soon split up into two, and that's how it was understood that she was carrying not one but two of his children.

His happiness wasn't the only thing that doubled as his fiercely overprotective behaviour threatened to consume his surroundings. Anyone who dared to make a single comment on how big his wife was steadily becoming certainly needed to fear for their lives if looks alone could kill. Only the warm, soothing hands of his wife calmed him and held him back. Just looking at her tender eyes and feeling her there dissolved him into jelly.

"Calm down," she would whisper, holding him from behind. He limbs would turn to jelly as he grabbed her hands and clutched them tight.

As time passed and it became increasingly difficult for her to walk unassisted. Sakura increased her visits and regularly checked up on her as he stood on the doorway, veiling the fear in his eyes.

"It will be a difficult and complicated delivery," Sakura informed them. "Things just got harder as Hinata is carrying twins, and it was already hard before as the baby is not in its natural position. I will need all the assistance I can get, so it cannot be done at the Hyūga compound. The hospital is necessary."

It gave him a sickening feeling in his gut. He tried not to think about how his wife's mother had passed away after delivering his sister in-law, the fiery Hanabi who always loved to catch them in the act of intimacy.

When the time came, each cry his wife made sent him reeling, but he resolved to keep a stronger stance to serve as her motivation. She had his hand in a death-grip and her pain was unimaginable.

He had never been so religious for he used to curse the gods for sealing their pre-destined fate since birth, but he vowed to be one if only his wife's pain would be lessened.

"Just... just get her through this quickly... Make my children and her survive... _Please..._ "

His eyes itched and tears threatened to sprout and he wished he could even take an ounce of pain his wife was suffering from.

He was a very observant shinobi, and he did not miss the fearful gaze Sakura threw her assistant, Yamanaka Ino, the blonde kunoichi with blue eyes who was biting her own lip.

It had been eight hours and the bags under their eyes indicated how hard they were driving themselves.

Sakura finally came up to him. "Neji, you need to leave the room as we need to make preparations," she said, a fake smile plastered on her face.

His wife was breathing heavily and she kept passing out. His eyes automatically awakened with his fierce gaze at the preposterous demand she had made but before he could think much about it, Ino had already taken over his mind and hit his own tenketsus (chakra-points), knocking him out cold.

It was a necessary requirement that he should be taken by surprise because Sakura knew exactly how stubborn he was. He would definitely not listen to the demands Hinata had made if it came to a life-and-death matter; that of putting her children first.

Hinata's life was fading away, and it was highly difficult for her to survive the childbirth. If Neji interfered and delayed things because of his stubbornness, Sakura might not even be able to fulfill the promise she had made to Hinata. And even though it was almost futile to hope that both the babies and the mother would all come out alive, Sakura had to try her hardest to make sure that at least one of them did.

* * *

 **A/N: The next chapter is possibly an epilogue and certainly heart-wrenching. Or I might just make it an extra chapter depending how it goes ^_^**


	11. Lifeless

**Part 11:**

 _Lifeless_

* * *

His former teammates, Rock Lee and Tenten, came to carry him away and made him lie down in a separate room, depositing him on a surgical bed. Tenten took a sheet and draped it over him.

When he woke up with a jerk, his fury was unimaginable. His body was groggy and he was extremely lightheaded. He knew he was being kept sedated.

He fixed his self-made rival with a death glare.

"How long have I been out?" he demanded to know.

"I think it has been more than thirty-eight hours," Rock Lee mumbled.

His mind exploded in fury but Rock Lee remained his ground as he tried to get up.

"Neji, you cannot... I'm not allowed to let you..."

Fixing a nasty glare, he forced himself up. Even though his body trembled when he put his weight on it, he dragged himself out of the room and his youthful friend did not dare try to stop him.

The heavy, condensed aura surrounding the hospital did nothing to quell his fears. Hands trembling, he looked around and was met with solemn expressions by the passing nurses.

He heard a noise and he peeked inside a room to see his father in-law. He had his head in his hands and by the way his body shook, he was crying. His sister in-law held his arm, her back to the door, trying to calm her father.

"Chichiue, it's OK. Everything is going to be alright," Hanabi was saying.

Neji's heart stopped and he stumbled backwards. His vision blurred and darkness threatened to engulf him. Supporting himself by the wall, he stumbled forwards. He could not hear anything around him except for a jumble of noises and the pitch increased with each passing second until he couldn't take it anymore.

He finally fell face-forward and he could hear running footsteps from behind him. Someone inadvertently picked him up with ease and carried him back. His former teammate and self-made rival's voice told him he'd be alright.

"You're just weary. You need sleep," Lee said.

The last thing he remembered were a pair of friendly green eyes looking at him and then the point of an unusually long needle.

* * *

When he awoke again, he was met with his former female teammate who had chocolate brown eyes and hair tied in two buns. She smiled when she saw him awake.

"Why, hello there Sleeping Beauty," she said brightly. She exited the door before he could retort, only to return back with a girl who had been in the delivery room and he gritted his teeth as he met the blue eyes of the kunoichi who had previously invaded his mind.

He pushed aside the feelings of animosity as he had a more important query. "Where is my wife?" he demanded to know.

The two females looked at each other, and his anger just kept mounting to cover the anticipation and fear he held.

"You'll see her soon," Ino said evasively.

Tired of all the secrecy, he sat back up and tried to remain calm. He was lost deep in thoughts.

He couldn't imagine a life without his wife. No one was telling him anything.

"Where is Sakura?" he asked instead, hoping that she would provide him with some answers.

Relief showed clearly on the faces of the two kunoichis, and they almost ran out the room to fetch her.

When the pick-haired girl entered the room, he immediately made out that she was completely exhausted and her eyes had deep bags under them.

"How-how is my wife?" he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

She hesitated to answer just for a second, then keeping a straight face, she finally revealed to him that his wife was in a coma.

She had suffered a drastic amount of blood loss, and the fact that she came out alive was a miracle in itself. They had to repeatedly shock her awake till they finally gave up and resorted to surgery.

She hesitated again. "Your wife will no longer be able to have another child, and that is if... If she ever wakes up from her coma."

His children were born, two wonderful Hyūga babies.

"One of them is in mortal peril," she informed him. "If he makes it through the next two nights, he'll live."

The second child's life was the one his wife had valued above her own and refused to let them save her and insisted that they do all in their power to make sure her second son stayed alive. She had been in a delusional state and she had screamed that the second son despite his inevitable fate in the Branch House would be loved above all and equally cherished. The messy Hyūga Affair would _not_ be repeated.

"She made me promise to save her children and not her before she went into labour," Sakura revealed to him. "She also made me promise to knock you out so that you won't be able to object, as you were sure to."

He did not realise she had stopped talking until she took his hand and covered it. He only realised that his face was wet with tears when a few fell down on their joint hands. The pink-haired girl was murmuring how they had all respected his wife's wishes and decisions and worked for her, and how above everything she was still alive.

"I can let you see your babies," she told him. "And you can hold one of them too."

He wordlessly allowed her to take his hand and lead him towards the neonatal ward. She had him stand by the window and told him that his was the one in the blue incubator. His child appeared to be barely breathing.

Then, she led him silently towards the ICU. A bulky nurse stood up but Sakura spoke up.

"He is the husband," she informed. The nurse sat back immediately and looked at him with sympathetic eyes but he did not register them.

As the pinkette opened a separate room, he saw his beautiful wife sleeping away, her mouth in an oxygen mask and drips on each arm. A pink bassinet was kept by the window but he did not focus. He knelt in front of his wife and held her hand.

"H-Hinata... Sama..." he said, his voice choked. "I'm-I'm here."

Sakura went by the crib and took out the newborn baby. She carried it to him and his gaze fell upon the little boy who was awake, looking at him intently with his Hyūga eyes.

He took him from her and looked at him in wonder, awed at the fact that his wife had produced not one but two of them. The baby was unusually silent, and he marveled how he already had the discipline of the Hyūga. He hugged the boy close to him, being carefully instructed by his friend to support his head at all times.

After a while, he carried his baby out and went out into the corridor where his father in-law and sister in-law sat.

They stood up as they saw him arrive and Hanabi squealed in happiness as she saw the bundle of joy in his arms.

He presented his son to his father in-law, who took him and looked at him tenderly, offering the baby his finger to hold on to. His sister in-law stroked his head with one hand and held on to her brother in-law's hand with her other.

She looked at him then and met his eyes. "All will be well," she calmly told him.

* * *

He was a transformed man, and he spent his time staring at the walls, lifeless as the woman who held his heart.

Even after he was informed a week later that his second born would survive, he remained in a daze.

His life had no meaning without his wife and it was in an incomplete state.

She was brought back into their house, where he gave her all the care she needed. He lived to serve and protect her, and no one could ever deny the devotion in his duty and his feelings.

He did not leave her room, and it fell on his sister in-law to remind him to take his meals.

His boys were growing up and crying for attention, and again it fell on Hanabi to take care of them when he absolutely had to begin taking his missions again.

He opted for the most risky and life-threatening ones, suicidal even. Everyone felt like he had lost the will to live, that he hoped not to return alive.

 _Lifeless as his wife_ , they whispered behind his back.

At each departure, he prayed that if he returned home, he would find his wife awake. And with each return, he would find her in as deep a sleep as ever.

Sometimes, she would smile in her sleep and elicit a sigh. At others, he would check her pulse, trembling, to assure his heart that she was still alive.

Even in her seemingly eternal slumber, she was as beautiful as ever. He never stopped loving her. Often, he would still lie beside her, holding her to him just as he had held her before. He would wash her and dress her in colorful and bright kimonos. He would brush her hair and style them in different ways, as taught to him by Hanabi.

Even in her comatose state, the love and care he gave her made her seem far from lifeless. He made every observer feel and believe that nothing was out of place; his wife was just sleeping.

* * *

 **A/N: My heart broke as I was writing this. I love Neji too much to give him a sad ending, but I just went along with where the words led me. Final chapter after this one! I can't believe this story is just about over! T_T**


	12. When Darkness Turns to Light

**Part 12**

 _When Darkness Turns to Light_

* * *

It had begun as a question of duty, but love soon blossomed on both sides. He had resolved to never let the extent of his fire be known, but today the proof of it shown with the birth of the Hyūga twins named after the fathers of their parents.

"I bet I can master Jūken even before Father did," Eight-year old Hizashi swore to his Aunt.

"Yeah right," Hiashi, his twin, snorted. "Father mastered Jūken even before you learned how to say that word."

Hizashi snarled, diving on to his younger twin brother. They rolled around the compound, high on their laughter.

"Why do you think you'll even become gennin before me?" Little Himawari cried as she too jumped over her cousins, pulling their shirts and ears.

Their Aunt approached them, her hands on her hips. "Boys, behave yourself, or there would be a Jūken imprinted on your butts." She turned to her daughter. "Himawari, do you need a demonstration?"

"Haha, oba-chan said butt," Hizashi giggled.

"I think slapping Hizashi on the butt with the Jūken would be good for training oba-chan," Hiashi commented.

Hanabi gritted her teeth. "How many times have I told you not to call me oba-chan?" she yelled as the boys laughed and jumped out of her reach. "Come back here you little squirts!" Hanabi yelled as she chased the boys across the compound. Himawari squealed as she fell back in on her laughter.

They were laughing and having a good time as Hanabi tackled them to the ground, rubbing their heads furiously. Their joy was interrupted by a familiar cough which stopped them all dead in their tracks. They guiltily looked back to see a tall, somber man looking at them, a semi-permanent frown etched on his face.

"Chichiue," the boys said together, getting up quickly with their heads bowed. They had forgotten that he was home today.

"Is this what you call training?" Neji reprimanded them, annoyed. The boys knew, even at their tender age, that their father was not a happy man and did not like it when others laughed a lot around him. They were not supposed to laugh loudly when he was home and did their best to hide their joyful behaviour. Even though their Father said it was unbecoming of a Hyūga to be anything less than serious, the boys knew that their Father had stopped finding joy in things since they were born and their Mother went to sleep.

"Does Father blame Hiashi and me for making Mother sleep forever?" Hizashi had once tearfully asked his Aunt, after receiving a terrible scolding from his father when the twins followed by Uzumaki Boruto and their little cousin Himawari had sneaked in to their mother's room and had found their father sitting on his knees and holding on to her hands, his body shaking. He was begging for her forgiveness.

Hanabi's expression had been murderous as she went to confront their Father.

Right now, their Aunt Hanabi got up, dusting herself. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Neji-niisan," she commented. "The boys were just playing."

Neji's lip curled. "Playing with their married aunt, who still considers herself a child," he said. He fixes a glare at his sons. "Did you two forget your duties this evening, or does your Aunt mean to delay you more?"

The boys looked at Hanabi in terror, who had her hands on her hips. "They're coming Neji-niisan. Till then, why don't you go back inside and untwist your panties while they wash?"

Himawari giggled. Neji huffed as he walked away.

Hanabi stuck her tongue out at his retreating back before turning to look at the boys, who looked back at her in wonder. No one except their Aunt Hanabi could dare talk to their Father like that. There were many reasons why their Aunt Hanabi was their absolutely favorite.

When Hanabi's daughter Himawari turned three, there was no curse mark planted on either twin's forehead in respect of their mother. Though it was apparent in everyone's mind, no one even dared bring up the subject in front of the Head of the Hyūga, their Aunt Hanabi, and the Hyūga Elder, their Grandfather.

Whatever the case maybe, the boys were spoiled by their Aunt and Grandfather, and they were forced to put on solemn expressions in front of their Father, who was always moody and never smiled.

The boys knew that their Father was like this because their Mother was asleep forever. Even though their Father spent most of his time on his missions or holed up in his room with their Mother, they struggled to get his attention. They would count a day as successful if either of them managed to make their Father smile.

When his kids entered the Academy at the age of five, they were already proficient in their skills and excelled in their studies, often competing with each other for the little attention spared by their Father.

When the boys were ready, they went to meet their Father in his room.

He nodded as they arrived. "Greet your Mother," he ordered.

The boys bowed respectfully. "Ohaiyo-gozaimasu, Hahaue."

Their Mother did not reply, breathing softly in her sleep. She appeared so soft, so fragile, that the boys were afraid to even touch her.

"Tell her about your day," their Father murmured, looking at their Mother with the gentlest expression they had ever witnessed on his face. He picked up their Mother's arm from her side and held it in both of his hands, caressing the back of her palm softly.

Hizashi cleared his throat. "Mother, I'm going to master Jūken before even Father could..."

"And I'll become a gennin before Hizashi," Hiashi interrupted, as always competitive.

The boys knew that their Father loved it when they fully carried on a conversation like something completely normal, so that's what they attempted.

"Himawari can become gennin before Hiashi," Hizashi retorted, staring intently at his sleeping Mother.

Neji laughed, and the boys stared at him in dumbstruck silence, drinking in his happy mood which was so rare. Here, in this room, they truly felt like family.

They were too young to understand why their Father made them recount each day they spent and what new things they learnt. They had also witnessed their Father reading the news out to her or any other story. Even though the boys felt awkward talking sometimes, their Father easily carried full conversations, which always left them confused because their Mother never moved or replied back to him.

Hiashi was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Father, I feel like Mother will want you to train us in shuriken."

"Your Aunt Hanabi-" Neji started to say, but was interrupted.

"You see," Hizashi cut in. "We don't want to be left behind by Uchiha Sarada in the graduation exams. She can even clone her shurikens! And Metal Lee is always throwing weapons with his mother too. Metal Lee's parents were your old gennin teammates, weren't they, Chichiue?"

"But your Mother needs me to-"

"Pleeeeeaaassseee Father?" the boys insisted.

A sigh interrupted them. All three males quickly turned to look at the sleeping woman on the bed. She appeared to be smiling in her sleep.

"See? I told you Mother wants you to," Hiashi said triumphantly.

Neji did not argue. He kept looking at his wife, his heart in his throat. He sighed before turning back, having had his hopes raised for the umpteenth time.

"Gather your equipment," Neji said as the boys looked at each other in glee. They were going to be trained by their Father! Times like these were rare.

* * *

The week passed by quickly, and it was a Sunday evening when Hyūga Hinata finally woke up as they came back from their shuriken practice.

That evening, Hyūga Neji cried like a newborn. His boys were taken completely by surprise, as their Father was a strong and stern figure who never had a single emotion displayed on his face, even at home or in front of anyone. Hyūgas were meant to be strong, their Father was always saying.

His boys also did not understand why their Mother was soothing their Father instead of the other way around.

Neji's hands were shaking so bad that when he lifted the jug on her bedside table to pour out a glass of water, he almost dropped half the water out. He held it to her lips as she downed it, smiling at him and at her sons. She opened her arms to them, and they cuddled in, all three men of her family. She smothered them with kisses.

The boys did not see their Mother for the next week as she spent her time in the hospital, making her body used to walking and talking again.

When she came home with their Father and asked to see her boys, the twins were surprised how she remembered each and every detail of their lives which they had told her about with perfect clarity the entire time she had appeared to be sleeping.

* * *

 **A/N: And... done! This story is complete! This chapter can be considered as an alternate ending, as I had originally intended to end this story at the previous chapter. But how can I give my precious darling Neji a sad ending? And especially after what Kishimoto did to him to try and sail the nonsensical ship of NaruHina?!**

 **Thank you to all those who have stuck by this story and followed, reviewed, and added this story to their favourites. I love to hear from you guys, so reviews are always much appreciated!**

 **Icheaa926:** I do have another NejiHina story going on called "A Twist of Fate" which follows a darker theme (kind of anyway). Why don't you check it out? And if you're into drama and comedy, I fully plan on including (and have included) some NejiHina in my fic titled "Words, Hands, & Hearts" even though it's not _completely_ NejiHina centric. There are love triangles though!

 **A-kun:** You are by far my favourite reviewer as you always review any story I update :D Do you have an FF ID? How do you follow the stories? _

 **AbbersBullie:** Awwww I'm sorry :( I hope this chapter was good enough to compensate making you cry!

 **TAYYABALARAIB:** Thank you for your wonderful comments. Do let me know what you think about the latest updates :)

Also thanks to **KHB123 , ****myrialuna** , and other Guest reviewers for letting me know what you think of my story!

 **It's been a wonderful journey with all you NejiHina lovers. Let's keep our ship sailing. NejiHina forever! Have a great life everyone! Cheers! ^_^**


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